Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life
by astronomyluvr
Summary: Naraku's finally defeated. Love's in the air. And there are great surprises hidden within the chapters Read and Review. I own nothing. Now complete!
1. Naraku's defeat and a secret revealed

Naraku's Defeat and a Secret Revealed

She saw the white hair of the hanyou as he attacked the demon that stood in front of them. Her arrow had done nothing to weaken the barrier that surrounded the demon.

Her attention was diverted when a tentacle launched itself at her. Taking a couple steps back, she let the taijiya destroy it.

" Thanks, Sango," She cried out to the demon slayer

" Kagome, look out!" The hanyou shouted out a warning, his sword, the Tetsusaiga, flashing in the sunlight.

Taking a fast survey, Kagome screamed at the sight of the demon that was about to attack her. Her arrow pierced the abdomen, the sacred energy ultimately destroying the flesh around the wound.

" Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed in fear as another tentacle sought her out. This one was too close for her to use her arrows against it. She closed her eyes in fear and cowered on the ground. But the tentacle never got to her. Opening her eyes, she saw the red hakama of the half demon. His sword had cut away the tentacle and he growled at the demon when he spoke.

" Inuyasha!" The demon hissed at him. His dark hair flowed around him and a baboon cape hung around his shoulders.

" Naraku!" Inuyasha snarled and raised the Tetsusaiga a couple inches, posing a fighting stance. Without a warning, he lunged, the blade of the Tetsusaiga turning red. One slash was all it took; the barrier surrounding Naraku was gone.

" Hiraikotsu," Another woman shouted out.

A giant boomerang hurtled past the half demon. It thundered into the demon's flesh, taking with it a good deal of the spidery legs that held up the demon. Sango stood in a throwing stance, her outstretched hand catching her weapon skilfully. It was the opening that Inuyasha needed, and he took it. His sword cleaved through the demon, leaving him in two halves.

As Kagome stood up, a small ball of red fur ran to her, Hugging the little fox demon, she grabbed her bow and then headed over to the half demon. The hanyou was staring at the spot where Naraku had fallen. Looking down, she saw a small wooden puppet and sighed. It was another one of Naraku's little times of fun, when he would be laughing out at them whenever they defeated it. It made her really mad, but she couldn't really do anything about it. The Shikon No Tama shards were almost whole again; all they had to find were the ones that belonged to Naraku, and that was getting harder and harder. Ever since they had faced the band of seven, every one had been on their toes, the hanyou especially. He felt responsible for the whole group, and wanted to protect every one, no matter what. He seemed to be the leader of the band to any body who had seen them when they marched past.

Inuyasha was lost in his own thoughts. The band of seven was also on his mind. He was still sore from the fight against Bangkotsu, and was glad that the band was gone, again, and for good this time. He hated it when the people in his little band were threatened, especially Kagome. He had a feeling for her; what it was, he didn't know.

" Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked.

" Nothing, I just have a bad vibe about this place, that's all," The hanyou said and realized that his hand was tightly wrapped around the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. Letting the sword go, he put it away, the transformation undone. With that, he stalked away, his golden eyes roaming the area as if he knew something was there.

Truth was, he knew there was something out there; there had always been things out in the wild of the Feudal era that went bump in the night. At the moment, he could feel that there was an enemy close by, but he couldn't tell where the thing was. His golden eyes watched the surrounding area with an intensity that would have sent the most stubborn of people packing.

That night, Kagome tossed and turned, unable to sleep. If she ever drifted off, her sleep was fitful, filled with images of death of her friends and Naraku making it across the well. She woke up gasping in fear every time. This time Shippou, the little fox demon woke up as well when he heard his surrogate mother gasp in fear.

" Kagome. What's wrong?" The little kitsune asked, his child-like voice ringing in her ears.

" It's nothing, Shippou. Go back to sleep. I'm going to take a drink of water," Kagome told him and got up, tucking the little demon back into her sleeping bag.

As she went to her large, yellow backpack to get a bottle of water, a sudden flash of red startled her. Realizing that it was Inuyasha, she relaxed. Unable to try to fall asleep, Kagome sat beside the fire and fed it a couple more sticks. Watching the flames as they grew, she didn't hear Inuyasha come up beside her. Biting back a startled cry, she looked over at the half demon accusingly.

" What gives you the right to scare me like that?" She asked, hugging her knees.

" Why are you walking around in the middle of the night?" Inuyasha countered

" I couldn't sleep," Kagome said with a sigh.

Snorting, the hanyou watched as Kagome buried her head in her arms. He knew how it was sometimes, but would never admit it to anybody. No, he wanted the others to think that he was responsible enough not to be bothered by silly little dreams. Instead he took his frustration out on a couple of trees a long ways away from camp. Shaking his head, he put his arms around her.

" Tell me what's got you tied in a knot," He said.

" I keep having these dreams," Kagome started off, reluctantly at first and then continued. " Every one's dying and I can't do a thing about it. It even goes as far as Naraku making it across the well and turning my time into another Feudal era over there." With that she broke down completely. " Inuyasha, I'm afraid!"

" Hey, take it easy. Nothing is going to happen to you. I'll make sure of it," the half demon swore.

Looking up, Kagome saw that Inuyasha's eyes were covered by his white hair. Relieved, she reached up and touched the dog-ears that sat on top of his head. She pulled away when his head whipped up at a sound that was close-by. He got up, hand grasping the Tetsusaiga's hilt, standing protectively in front of Kagome. His growl filled the air as a small bee with red eyes flew overhead.

There came a clap of thunder and a sudden burst of wind. Sango and the demon slaying monk, Miroku, woke up instantly, their weapons ready at hand. What they saw surprised them.

Naraku was walking to them, as many bees as the wind following him and just as many youkai. His baboon cape swirled around him as he walked. Grinning in an almost maniacal way, he opened his hand, revealing the part of the Shikon no Tama that he had collected.

" Inuyasha, nice to see you again. Ah, and that bitch, Kagome," Naraku said, his voice dripping sarcasm. " Too bad you're going to die. It was fun while it lasted."

At that, the demons surged forward. Inuyasha cried out a howling response and met them head on. Kagome, who had been on the ground, staring in disbelief, now scrambled to Shippou and her arrows. She passed Miroku, who was swinging his staff and destroying demons. She watched as he took of the beads from around his hand and unleashed the power from the black hole in his hand.

As Kagome reached her sleeping bag, a demon attacked her, Screaming in fear, she grabbed a stick and beat it with every thing she had. It finally backed away only to be killed by a great bite from Kirara, the two-tailed fire cat demon.

" Thanks Kirara!" Kagome said and grabbed the bow and arrows. She let Shippou climb up her shoulder, as he was so scared. Firing off a couple of arrows, Kagome ducked and hid behind a tree as more youkai tried to get her.

" Backlash wave!" Inuyasha shouted and swung his sword mightily, the attack that was aimed at him turning it back to the demons. The swing went through without a hitch, leaving behind nothing but smoking corpses. He charged and destroyed other demons that were trying to attack Kagome. Turning on his heel, the hanyou turned his attack on Naraku, who in turn attacked with spidery legs.

Inuyasha felt the blood even before he felt the pain from the wound. Ripping his clawed hands into the wound, the hanyou threw another of his attacks. The Iron Reaver Soul Stealer used his blood to work. He watched as the blades only sliced Naraku's clothing and snarled in frustration. Then he heard Kagome scream in pain.

Kagome didn't see or hear the demon that attacked her. All she felt was the stinging pain across her back and arms. Curling in a ball to protect herself, she felt Shippou crying in fear beside her. Then she felt flesh pelting her. Squinting her eyes, she saw the red hakama of a certain white haired hanyou standing over her. Then he was replaced by a man in a baboon cape. Naraku. She felt her windpipe close when he grabbed her throat with his hand, the other digging around for the other shards. When he had finally found them, he smirked and his hand closed even tighter. Black spots began to dance before her eyes, and she didn't see the red of the hanyou's hakama until the demon's hand released its grip on her throat.

Inuyasha went berserk when he saw Naraku trying to choke the life out of Kagome. He tackled the demon and was thrown away. Still he kept at it, trying to keep Naraku busy enough to let Kagome get away. Incredibly, when he was thrown away again, he saw Kagome pounce with almost cat-like grace. With a desperate grab, she held Naraku's hand, her strength coming out of pure desperation.

The jewel that was intertwined between their hands glowed a light pink and it kept getting stronger and stronger until no one could look at it with difficulty. With a look of smug triumph on her face, Kagome suddenly yelled out loud in pain. Her face contorted with the burden and then, with a sudden flash, she was thrown away from the demon, the Shikon no Tama in her hands.

Naraku was also thrown away, but managed to recover his dignity and strength first. He saw the girl, Kagome, lying a dozen of feet away from him, the Shikon no Tama in her outstretched hand. Scrambling to her, he made a grab for the jewel, but found himself being hauled away. Looking around him, he saw Inuyasha dragging him away from Kagome.

Snarling, Inuyasha kept the demon from getting to where Kagome lay. His snarled grew into a full-throated roar as he swung Naraku into a tree. Grabbing the Tetsusaiga from the spot where he had dropped it, Inuyasha swung it with all his might. The blade didn't miss its mark.

Sango panted from exhaustion, and then she realized something. If Naraku had all the shards of the Shikon no Tama, what had happened to her brother, Kohaku? Was he dead? With a sob in her throat, she didn't see Miroku come up and kneel beside her.

" Sango, what is it?" The monk asked, fear building in his chest.

" The shards… my brother…" Sango couldn't continue, the thought of losing the last of her family finally hitting her hard. Burying her head in her hands, she let Miroku hold her. She didn't even know when Kirara came to her, the cat demon back to her small form. Mewing, the little two-tailed cat rubbed her head in her mistress's hand, understanding the loss.

Inuyasha leaned on his sword as he made his way to where Kagome lay on the ground, unmoving. As he covered the last few feet, he saw her chest rise and fall slowly. At least she was alive. He hurried, not wanting to confront the wolf demon, Koga, who also had a crush on Kagome. The truth about that was that he loved Kagome as well, not his dead girlfriend, Kikyo. Hugging Kagome close to his body, he noticed that her facial expression had contorted with pain.

" Sango, Miroku. Come on. We have to get Kagome back to Kaede's village," Inuyasha said and watched as Shippou uncurled and watched Inuyasha with tear-filled eyes.

" Kagome," He said, his voice made small from the fear in it.

" Shippou, get on. I'm taking Kagome back to Kaede's right now," The hanyou said and then felt the small hands and feet of the fox demon as he clambered up his arm onto his shoulder. With a grunt of effort, Inuyasha took Kagome in his arms and waited until Sango and Miroku got on Kirara after she had transformed. With a leap that took him at least twenty feet, he ran as fast as he could to Kaede's village.

Kaede sat outside of her hut, checking her herbs that she had gathered to dry. She lifted her head at a sound of rustling leaves. She watched with mild interest as a demon sprang out of the bushes, running as if it was being chased by the devil himself. Then the demon was destroyed, replaced by Inuyasha. Taking in the scene with a practiced eye, she immediately grabbed some herbs and headed inside her hut, preparing a place for Kagome.

Inuyasha rushed in and gently placed Kagome down with more care than usual. Kaede took a careful note of that. He turned Kagome on her front, so the old woman didn't have a problem healing the wound that Kagome had sustained.

" What happened, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked as she cut away the young miko's shirt with a knife. Then she checked the wound, probing for any serious damage.

" Naraku attacked the camp. He tried to get the Jewel from Kagome, but she some how managed to get up after being wounded and get all of the Shikon no Tama. It's whole now," the hanyou said, pointing to one of Kagome's clutched hands.

" That is well. Now get out, I must work on Kagome with out a distraction," The old woman, who was the sister of his original girlfriend, ordered him.

Taking the hint, Inuyasha backed out of the hut reluctantly, but he knew that Kaede was right. She needed no distractions whenever she was healing either a minor cut or even a wound from an attack by a demon. He headed to Sango and Miroku, who sat on the ground with Kirara and Shippou. Almost immediately, he saw Sango's red face. He then realized that her younger brother also had a shard of the Shikon no Tama in his back. The realization struck him just as hard, just like when his mother had died, over fifty years ago.

Miroku looked at the approaching half demon and shook his head at him. The monk held Sango tightly, not wanting her to feel alone now that her last relative was dead.

Inuyasha felt that there was going to be a turn of events some how.

Watching from the woods, a woman with deep grey hair smiled at the scene. No one knew her real name. The only name that she went by was Nianniai. At least it was a change from her hated real name, which she had long forgotten. She was planning to get the Shikon no Tama and make her strength grow to tens times as strong. Then she was going to kill every one slowly. With a last, wicked chuckle, she vanished into the darkening woods.

Kagome woke up after the next couple of days. Her back hurt, sure, but at least Naraku was dead. She had seen the demon's head roll form his shoulders just before she passed out. Looking around, she saw Inuyasha sleeping, his head resting on his chest. Smiling, she grabbed his hand, startling him awake.

" What! Oh Kagome, you're awake," Inuyasha said, embarrassed at being caught sleeping on his self proclaimed guard duty.

" How is every body?" Kagome asked, her hand returning to her side.

" Sango's pretty shaken up because her brother's dead. After all, if the shard was removed from his back, he would die. Otherwise every body's fine," Inuyasha replied

" Send her in. I want to tell her something," Kagome said, closing her eyes.

Inuyasha left and in a couple of minutes Sango walked in, her body racked in sorrow, her eyes red from crying too much.

" Sango, sit down beside me for a bit, will you? I have something to tell you. Perhaps it will make you feel better knowing this," Kagome paused before she continued. " But your brother, he is still alive, and heading this way. I suggest you go to the east. He should be there within the hour."

Sango stared at her friend with disbelief. Could it be true? Was Kohaku really alive? But how did Kagome know if he was or not?

" How do you know? Does he remember anything?" Sango finally found her voice.

" Hai, he does remember you and he has enough sense to go to a village that he knows will take him in until he can find you. I knew this since the battle with Naraku. I saw it in his mind, I'll guess you'll say," Kagome said and turned away to get more rest. " Go. Find your brother."

Sango couldn't help it. She squealed in delight, hugged her friend and left, uttering apologies to Kagome's curses of pain. She ran as fast as she could go, ignoring the questions from Miroku and the starts from the villagers. She sat on a rock exactly east of the village and kept a constant vigil.

Inuyasha entered Kaede's hut and saw the smile that was on Kagome's face. He put it all together, combined by the fact that Sango ran out of here with a large grin on her face and figured it out. Sango's brother was still alive.

" When did you know?" Inuyasha asked.

" Since the battle. Listen, Inuyasha, I want to tell you…" Kagome started to speak when a wolf demon ran in.

" Get out of my way, mutt," The demon said as he knelt beside Kagome.

" Koga, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked.

" I smelt your blood and I followed it from your battle with Naraku. I knew that this mutt was going to get you hurt," Koga said

" Who are you saying it's their fault, you mangy wolf!" Inuyasha yelled, his eyes flashing angrily.

" Inuyasha. Osuwari!" Kagome said and was rewarded with a satisfying thump as the power of the rosary beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed and caused him to crash face first to the ground.

" Thank you, my love!" Koga exclaimed and took a double take as Kagome turned her scornful gaze on him.

" Koga, go back to your tribe. There is no way I will marry you. I love some one else," Kagome said and turned away.

" Why you goddamn bitch," Koga said and just as he was about to strike her, his hand was caught. Turning to look, he saw Inuyasha holding his hand, the edges of his eyes turning red. With a sudden realization, Koga knew that the hanyou was turning into a full-blooded youkai.

" Leave her alone, wolf. And don't say that I didn't warn you," Inuyasha growled dangerously.

Gulping, the wolf demon backed down. Normally he wouldn't back down from any fight, but deep in his heart, he would never win against a hanyou turning youkai who was protecting what was his. With a snort of exasperation, he left.

" Inuyasha, stop it right now. Please," Kagome said and watched as Inuyasha's face slowly returned to normal. " As I was saying before I was interrupted, I wanted to tell you something. I wanted to say that I… I …"

" Well come on. A simple word isn't that hard to say," Inuyasha encouraged her.

" Well, I … I love you," Kagome said. There she had finally said it and felt some what relieved.

Inuyasha stared. He never knew if she felt the same way the way he did about her. His face reddened a bit and before he could check himself, he blurted out a response.

" I love you too, Kagome," He said and then he was being hugged. Responding, he hugged Kagome back. " We'll tell every body when you're better." Inuyasha said and lay down beside the one he had finally confessed his love to.

As the days passed, Kagome and Inuyasha became more trust worthy in their newfound relationship. They had decided to keep it a secret until they felt absolutely sure that the Shikon no Tama was safe. As far as they knew, the demons had been gathering far away, almost as if under the influence of a powerful being.

" Inuyasha, is it possible now that I've healed to go home to my time and not have you breathing down my back?" Kagome asked as she got up from her bed.

" I suppose so," Inuyasha said as he got up himself and held Kagome's waist. " Just bring back some ramen, will you?"

" Well, Inuyasha tonight is the new moon. You can come on over and stay for the night," Kagome said and grabbed her empty bag, heading out into the sun.

" Feh," Inuyasha said as he followed. He waited as Kagome got on her bike with some fear, but once she had started out, the hanyou followed her.

Shippou watched as Kagome and Inuyasha headed to the bone eaters well. Tonight was the new moon, that he knew. But what where they up to? Kagome hadn't told Inuyasha to sit in a couple of days. Usually, the hanyou was being so obnoxious that he earned more than one sit per day. Some thing was going on here.

Meanwhile, Sango sat with her brother. She had been so overjoyed when she saw Kohaku walking down the dirt road that she had been speechless, finally running to her brother whom she had thought she had lost. They shared their experiences since the day their village was attacked. They were preparing for a wedding. Miroku had confessed his love to Sango the night before and Sango had accepted, provided that he keep his hand off her butt when her brother was present. Kagome was going to buy a present for the both of them and give it to them when she returned.

Watching yet again from the cover of the trees, Nianniai trailed the couple as they headed to the well. Her plan was ridiculously simple. Wait for them to return and then attack, getting the shards back from the girl. But when they arrived at the well, she received a surprise.

Kagome stopped and looked at Inuyasha. Her eyes spoke many volumes as she took off the completed Shikon jewel from around her neck. She then placed them around Inuyasha's neck.

" Inuyasha, I want you to be happy. I just hope that your happiness will be with me," Kagome said, her words simple and clear.

Inuyasha stared at the pink orb of magic that he cupped in his hand. It would bring his deepest wish come true; all he had to do was make the right decision that would make him happy. With a sigh, he looked at her with such a longing that Kagome was half afraid that he would choose Kikyo instead of her.

" I choose to be with you," Was all he said and was engulfed with a warm feeling as the shards made his wish come true. Then he felt such an urge to make love with Kagome that he rushed forward and held her.

Kagome moaned with pleasure as Inuyasha nuzzled her neck. She ran her hands through his silky silver-white hair in response. He kissed her on the mouth as her hands took off the top of his hakama, her fingers scraping his neck, sending chills racing down his spine. She cried out his name as he entered and a burst of violent, yet intense and joyful feelings crawled through her body.

" This will sting, but don't worry; I'm proclaiming you as my mate," the hanyou said and sunk his fangs in the side of her neck. After that was over with, he cut himself and Kagome, mingling their blood. He wanted her to live longer than if she was just a normal mortal and doing it this way, he was insuring it.

After a couple of minutes, Kagome got up and dressed, fixing her hair in such a way so that no one would be any the wiser about their actions. Inuyasha put on his hakama, and when Kagome was ready, he grabbed her bike, grasped her hand and jumped down the well.

Nianniai backed away from the scene. Now that the jewel was gone, she had no way of becoming powerful, but at least she could use the spirits of both human and hanyou to make herself that bit stronger, Not all was lost in the world of magic.

Mrs. Higurashi cut the vegetables for the evening meal when Sota shouted out in glee. Looking out the window she saw Inuyasha and her daughter walk out of the well house and past the Goshinboku tree, where her son sat. Smiling, she kept an eye on the two as they closed the distance to the house. Something was a little strange though. Usually Inuyasha would be sulking, but this time, he had an arm around Kagome's shoulder. There was a good chance that something happened in the feudal era to bring them closer together.

" Mom!" Kagome said as she entered the house. She ran over and hugged her mother, smiling in delight. " We won. Naraku's dead!"

" That's great honey," Mrs. Higurashi replied and stole a glance over to Inuyasha. " And, is there anything new that I should know?"

" Well, yeah," Kagome said, exchanging a sly look with the hanyou behind her. He nodded. "Inuyasha chose to be with me! He loves me!" Kagome was almost shouting now.

Inuyasha smiled smugly at the look on Mrs. Higurashi's look on her face at the news. Now what was she supposed to do? Wait for her grandkids to come around? The hanyou was still smiling when jii-chan and Sota walked in. All it took was one look and they figured it out. They smiled and Sota ran to his sister, launching himself at her with arms outstretched, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Inuyasha caught them before they hit the ground. Keeping an arm around Kagome, he placed Sota on the ground.

Kagome was happy. At least the happiest that she had ever been since she had ever remembered. Looking deep in Inuyasha's golden eyes, she kissed him on the cheek, a quick peck. Then she walked out of the house, the hanyou following her. They sat under the Goshinboku tree. It was the same tree where Inuyasha had been sealed to for fifty years, over five hundred years ago by his dead girlfriend and Kaede's older sister, Kikyo, when Naraku had pitted them against each other by making it seem like Inuyasha was after the Shikon no Tama to become full demon. What he didn't know was that Inuyasha would be freed from the tree and hunting him.

Together, they watched the sun set.

Sota came out the moment before the ball of fire set. He stared in amazement when he saw Inuyasha transform. The dog-ears at the top of his head crawl down to the side of his head, where a normal human's would be. His eyes changed from his normal gold to a smoky violet. His claws retracted into normal human fingernails and the fangs in his mouth disappeared. Yes, he had seen the transformation before, but it never stopped amazing him.

" Sota, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, noticing her brother.

" Mom says that it's time to eat," Sota told them and left. He heard them get up and follow him.

Entering the house, they headed to the kitchen. There they sat down and ate, quietly. Later, when the food had been eaten, both Inuyasha and Kagome left, going to a store where they would pick up a wedding present for Miroku and Sango.

Before they left, Kagome had Inuyasha change into modern day clothes. Heading out, they hurried into a store, looking at anything they thought the newly weds would like to have. They finally decided on scented candles and a couple of very colourful rugs a couple of stores after.

After they had purchased the items, they left the store. They stopped and bought some ice cream from a vendor, and just as they were about to head home some one shouted out to Kagome. Turning around, they saw a small group of girls heading to them.

" Hi Eri! Hi every one. How are you?" Kagome asked her friends.

" We're fine. Hey, who's this? He's cute," Ayumi said.

" This is my… my boyfriend," Kagome said and received looks of envy. " His name is Inuyasha."

" We were going to a movie. Wanna come?" One of the girls asked.

" No, we have plans of our own. And if you see Hojo, don't tell him a thing, please. Not a thing," Kagome begged her friends, almost going as far as putting on a puppy-dog face for them.

They agreed not to say any thing to Hojo and then they headed off to go watch their movie. Walking slowly among the crowds, Inuyasha kept his hand on Kagome's shoulder as he carried the bags. They made sure to take their time, wanting to be together, to make up the time they lost when they were in the feudal era. It was extremely late, or early, around an hour away from morning when they sat down on a bench in the park. Inuyasha angled his head to be on top of Kagome's head and watched the sky, his arm still around her shoulder. They sat there for the better part of the hour remaining before the rising of the sun, watching the east change from black to a pink and orange, when a small gang directly approached them, their hands hidden under their coats. It was only until they took them out of hiding that Kagome stared in fear.

In the hands of the gang members were a various assortment of weapons.

Hai—yes

Hanyou—half demon

Miko—priestess

Hiraikotsu—Sango's weapon

Osuwari—sit


	2. The Attack and a Brother's Death

The Attack and a Brother's Death 

Inuyasha growled softly in his throat as he watched the gang in front of him and Kagome. He hated it when he turned a human. His dull senses couldn't detect danger until it was right in front of them. He looked desperately at the sky. It was about ten minutes until the sun rose. He wasn't going to let any one lay a hand on his Kagome.

" What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha asked, stepping protectively in front of Kagome fists clenched at his sides.

" We want some ass, don't we boys?" One of the boys in the gang said out loud, receiving cheers of approval.

Growling, Inuyasha hurled himself at the gang spokes man. In mid-flight, he was thrown to one side. The report of a gun going off echoed in the still air, causing a couple of early birds jogging in the park to start in fear. Inuyasha cried out in pain as the round tore through his shoulder, tenderizing the muscle around the wound. As blood began to leek down his shirt, Inuyasha lurched to the gang once again, but got the butt of a gun thrust in his face.

Kagome screamed in fear when she saw Inuyasha get shot. Then a couple members of the gang grabbed her, dragging her away from Inuyasha. Screaming and kicking, she fought as much as she could, but couldn't get away, no matter how hard she struggled. Chancing a look at the lightening sky, Kagome smiled smugly when she saw the sun starting to rise. Arms held her tightly, nails digging into her arms as their owners stared at the awesome spectacle that was occurring in front of them.

Inuyasha's hair turned back to its original silvery-white colour. His fangs grew back and so did his nails. His ears crawled back up to the top of his head, changing back to their original dog-eared shape. Ignoring his wounded, tender shoulder and the blood, slowly leaking from it, the hanyou grabbed the nearest pair and hurled them against a tree; nowhere near hard enough to kill them, only enough to knock them out. Taking a running leap at the ones who held Kagome, he scattered them like leaves on a tree. He grabbed her and took off, jumping from one roof to another until they reached Kagome's house, and let her off as soon as they had entered through Kagome's window.

" Hold still," Kagome said as she went to get some bandages. She knew that Inuyasha would be better soon, but she always felt better when she bandaged up any one of his wounds. With a practiced hand, the wound was bandaged with hardly a complaint from the hanyou.

" Kagome, what in hell was that weapon? I've never seen one like that," Inuyasha asked his love.

" That is a gun. It's a modern weapon that, well, we'll say throws pieces of metal at very high speeds. A lot of people are killed by them,' Kagome replied. " Come on, let's go grab breakfast and then we'll head back."

Sango was steaming when she saw Miroku try to seduce another village girl. Sighing, she knew it was his nature and he would have a hard time getting rid of the habit. Looking at her brother, she hid a smile and turned back to polishing her hiraikotsu. She looked up when she heard some little village kids scream in delight. Glancing up, she saw Inuyasha and Kagome surrounded by them. Those two, and the rest of the gang had become very popular around here. In fact, they were loved.

" Kagome, Inuyasha. Hello again," Miroku said, abandoning his attempts to try and seduce the girl. He didn't really know why he kept it up; he was about to have a wife whom he loved very much. It was time to stop asking younger girls into bearing his children.

" Kagome!" Shippou squealed when he saw his surrogate mother appear and launched himself in her arms. He hid his surprise when Inuyasha patted him on the head instead of being the idiot he usually was.

" Hi Shippou. Sango, can I talk to you?" Kagome asked her best friend from this era.

" Sure. Kohaku, if Miroku tries to seduce another girl, bash him on the head for me, please," Sango said and received a nod of assent. She walked to Kagome and then they headed into the forest where they could speak in peace.

While they were gone, Inuyasha turned to Miroku.

" Monk, you are one stupid guy. You're always chasing a girl when you meet them. I think that it's time you stopped," The hanyou said. He idly watched as the monk glanced at his hand, the same hand where his curse was located. Now that Naraku was dead, the black hole in his hand was gone, the curse lifted.

" I agree. You know, I always loved Sango; it was just that I was afraid for her getting sucked up into the wind tunnel or having our child doing it for me," Miroku said and sat down on the ground, still staring at his hand. " Now that I've finally admitted my love for her and that Naraku's dead, I don't have anything to worry about, except for her calling me a hentai and hitting me with either her hand or her hiraikotsu."

Inuyasha smiled at thought of Sango and Miroku's child running around with his and Kagome's pup.

Sango sat down on a stump with Kagome. They were quiet for a while before Kagome broke the silence.

" Sango, I want to congratulate you. You've finally found the one you love," She said and received a look from the demon slayer. " What?"

" You're in love with Inuyasha, aren't you?" Sango asked. When all she got was silence, she smirked and continued. "You two made love."

Kagome gapped at Sango. How did she know? Seeing her friend's embarrassment, Sango smirked again.

" I haven't told you everything either. When ever you and Inuyasha were in your time, and Shippou was with Kaede, Miroku and I would head out to the forest and make love," She said.

" So that's why when you came back, you were always in a good mood," Shippou quipped.

" Oi, you weren't supposed to know that!" Sango exclaimed, her cheeks reddening at the fact that the orphan fox demon child knew about her outings with the monk on the new moon.

" I kept it in all this time, I'll keep it in for longer if I have to," Shippou said.

"Thanks," Sango said and with a little giggle, they got up and headed for the village, where their men waited for them. But they did not know that Nianniai was watching them, her plan almost complete.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome undressed. He sat in a tree, keeping a vigil that he always did without knowing why. It had been three almost, four months since Miroku and Sango had been married. He jumped down when Kagome got in the water, still watching for signs of danger.

" Come in, Inuyasha. The water's fine,' Kagome said.

" It's not the water I'm worried about. Kagome, get out and put your clothes on," Inuyasha hissed at her. He waited until, Kagome had put her clothes on before he turned and waited again. This time it wasn't long before he saw his brother appear from the forest.

" Ah, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said, his voice smooth, like water flowing over a rock. He held out his hand to let the toad demon and the little girl behind him to stop.

" What they hell do you want, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha asked his older brother, his hand curled around the sheathed Tetsusaiga's hilt.

" I want to talk to you," The full demon told his little hanyou brother and then left with Inuyasha following behind him, leaving Kagome alone with Rin and Jaken.

" Hello Rin," Kagome said gently.

" Hello Kagome," The little girl responded. She soon came over and sat downs beside the miko. She stared at the river, and then she found herself looking at Kagome's middle. There was a slight bulge. Kagome found the girl looking at her stomach, smiled and patted her round middle.

" You're wondering about my stomach, aren't you?" Kagome asked. When she got a nod, the young miko continued. " Well, it turns out that I'm pregnant. I'm carrying Inuyasha's child in me until it's time for him or her to come out."

They sat there, watching the bubbling waters for an unknown amount of time before they realized that they were under attack. Hiding little Rin away in a small hollowed out hole under a tree, Kagome took out her arrows and her bow, protecting the girl. But she screamed out loud when a demon attacked her legs instead.

Inuyasha was annoyed when his brother led him away from Kagome's side. After stopping at a rise, they sat down, staring at the sky, staying silent before deciding to speak at all.

" Brother, I want you to know that I am proud of your work. You have destroyed the demon Naraku. It took some courage to defeat your fear of losing every one you know," Sesshoumaru told his brother, breaking the silence.

" Feh," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. " If that's all you wanted to know, why didn't you wait until my pup is born? At least you would have a reason to see me. You're wasting your time right now."

" It was hard trying to find you. Your scent is everywhere, but I had to find out where you were exactly, and that took some time. Longer than I expected," Sesshoumaru said and took a deep breath. " When is your pup due, little brother?"

" During the winter months, the time Kagome refers to as Christmas," Inuyasha told his brother.

Just as the youkai brother was about to speak again, a piercing scream sounded out, echoing through the forest. Eyes flashing angrily, the brothers were on their feet, hands on the hilts of their swords. It was the hanyou who spoke first, softly, breaking the silence.

" Kami, that was Kagome," Was all he said before taking off.

Sesshoumaru was the first to get to the river's edge. There were signs of a battle, the corpses of demons said as much. He knelt beside a broken bow and an arrow. The quiver was nowhere to be seen. He heard his brother finally crash out of the forest, cursing as he stumbled over Jaken's unconscious form.

" She's gone, isn't she?" Inuyasha asked no one in particular. He looked at the broken bow and felt the tears well up in his eyes. Wrenching his sight away from the weapon, he saw a flash of white and red. " Rin, come out. They're gone."

The girl came out, visibly trembling in fear. She had stuffed her fists in her mouth to keep from crying out loud when the demons had attacked her and Kagome. She immediately ran to Sesshoumaru, babbling incoherencies.

" Rin, slow down. Tell us what happened," The youkai lord said calmly.

" The demons, milord. They attacked after Kagome told me the news about the child she is going to have. They wanted her very bad," Rin told them. " She hid me before she shot them. Then there was a lady in black who appeared out of nowhere. All she did was look at Kagome and she fell down. I wanted to help, but she told me to stay put. Gomen, I wanted to help, but she didn't want me to."

" You did good, Rin. Which way did they go?" Sesshoumaru asked. Rin pointed to the north.

" Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha said, a little less harshly than he intended. " We should bring Rin to Kaede's, to keep her safe." The hanyou looked at the sky. " I'm going after her, Sesshoumaru. Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara and I are going to find Kagome, no matter what."

Sesshoumaru got up and, holding little Rin close, he starred his brother right in the eyes, gold looking deeply into gold.

" You're not going alone with those humans you stay with," the youkai lord said before they left for Kaede's village, with Rin and Jaken in tow.

When Kagome woke up, it was pitch black. She couldn't see a thing. What scared her the most was the fact that Rin was still out there. But then again, her scream was loud enough for Inuyasha to hear.

" Ah, the little miko princess is awake," A sibilant female voice said, coming from the darkness around Kagome.

" Who's there?" Kagome asked, and before she could say any thing more, a bright light engulfed the area.

" My name is Nianniai. You knew my sister, Kaguya, yet you and that half demon denied her the right of having a solid body again," Nianniai said. " I will give her the right to walk the earth in a human body again, in your body."

" No!" Kagome exclaimed, clutching her stomach as if to protect the life that grew there from the woman that stood in front of her. She could feel her miko powers pulsing in her, the purity of it coursing through her veins.

Nianniai stared at the miko in front of her. She could feel the power growing in her and it frightened her. What was going on? Kagome's powers should not work here. Maybe the girl had more powers in her than any one had ever imagined.

" So you are as powerful as they say, and your powers are growing," Nianniai told Kagome, before being assaulted with a wave of energy.

Kagome stared at the image that appeared before her. The image of a woman in full battle gear startled her. Then she noticed the power and energy emanating from her. She could feel a familiar pulse coming from the image, the power of the Shikon no Tama. With a sudden realization, she knew who this woman was.

" Midoriko?" Kagome whispered.

" They come. You don't have to worry; you and the child will be all right. I have created the jewel and you have protected it, destroying Naraku at the same time. You have put me to rest, but I will help you before I go," The long-dead woman told Kagome before disappearing. " Keep faith, my child, my dear priestess."

Kagome stared at nothing, ignoring the fact that Nianniai was yelling at her. She didn't even know when the demoness had left.

Sango sat with Miroku, gazing at the stars. They held each other's hand lovingly, not ever wanting to let go. The rustling of bush leaves form the forest's edge disturbed them. Their gazing disrupted, they watched as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru bounded out form the forest, Rin and Jaken following the two half brothers as they ran up the main path of Kaede's village.

" Inuyasha, what's wrong? Where's Kagome?" Miroku called out. When he received a look of anger and pain, he knew that some one had taken Kagome. " Come on, Sango. Looks like we're going to have fun kicking some demon ass."

They headed to their hut and grabbed their weapons, unintentionally waking Kohaku. When he saw his sister grab her hiraikotsu, he grabbed his chained sickle. The look on his face told his sister to not argue. They met with Kaede outside as Sesshoumaru finished telling Rin and Jaken to stay there. Kaede reassured the little girl, telling her that her master was going to help find Kagome.

" What are you waiting for?" Inuyasha yelled at them, waiting impatiently as Kirara transformed to her full demon size. With a groan of impatience, the hanyou took off, following the scent of his love as best as he could. His hands curled into fists, his knuckles cracking. Whenever he got a hold on the demon or demons that held Kagome, there would be hell to pay for.

Sango kept a steady hand grasping Kirara's mane, resisting the urge to yell at Inuyasha for letting Kagome out of his sights. Then she wondered about Sesshoumaru. Why was he here? And most important of all, why was he trying to help his half brother when all they ever did in the pats was fight? There was definitely something going on here.

" Miroku, what do you suppose happened?" Sango asked, turning to her husband, shifting her hiraikotsu so it wouldn't hit the monk unconscious and send him tumbling down to the rushing ground.

" I suppose Kagome was kidnapped when Sesshoumaru came. Don't know why he's here, though. I guess we'll find out sooner or later," Miroku replied.

The night passed onto morning and the sun was getting lower in the sky when Sesshoumaru finally told every one to stop. Inuyasha, being the stubborn one that he usually is, kept going out of pure doggedness. He wasn't going to stop until he found Kagome. He struggled when Sango ordered Kirara to stop him by any means necessary, the two-tailed fire cat demon sitting on the hanyou as a last resort.

" Little brother. If you continue at this pace, you will surely kill yourself," The youkai lord said as he grabbed both of Inuyasha's arms and hauled him upright, avoiding the fist Inuyasha swung wildly at him, launching one of his own that caught the hanyou on the jaw.

Inuyasha felt himself fall to the ground but couldn't stop. He cursed his half brother, unable to say the words. Instead he let himself fall, the jolt from the ground meeting his head bringing him to unconsciousness.

Miroku busied himself looking for firewood while Sango tended to the tired Kirara and an unconscious Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru stood guard, listening to the sounds of the night as the darkness descended steadily. Sango readied their supper, keeping Kirara close to her as she ate. Miroku sat beside her, eating in silence. They were interrupted when Inuyasha regained consciousness. He sat up, and growled at Sesshoumaru, almost rushing head on at the youkai.

" Why in hell did you do that?" Inuyasha growled at his brother.

" You know just as well as I do. If you would have continued at that breakneck speed of yours, you would have killed yourself," Sesshoumaru replied calmly. " Would you have done Kagome any good dead?"

Inuyasha sat in silence. Sesshoumaru was right. If he were dead, how would he get Kagome back alive? Reluctantly, he accepted the food that Sango handed him and dug in. With a sigh, he decided to tell both Sango and Miroku what had happened to Kagome earlier in the day. When he had finished, he was sure that the demon exterminator would have whacked him a million times with her hiraikotsu and then would have killed him. He watched as her facial expression changed as she realized that if was going to blame Inuyasha, she had better also blame Sesshoumaru seeing as the youkai lord had decided to talk to the hanyou at the precise moment of the attack.

" I suppose that you didn't smell any demons around, did you?" Kohaku asked to the half brothers.

" No," They replied, almost at the same time.

Later during the night, Inuyasha stayed awake, ignoring his full demon half brother. His mind wandered back to when he had first met Kagome.

He had been pinned to the Goshinboku for fifty years. His ears twitched against a wandering hand. Opening his golden eyes, he saw a girl of about fifteen years of age rubbing his ears. Wait, she looked exactly like Kikyo! Eyes growing hard, he yelled at her, calling the girl Kikyo, to let him go.

_She yelled back at him, telling him that she didn't know a Kikyo, that her name was Kagome Higurashi. She went on to say that she had been brought here by an old well because her brother was scared of the well and would not go in the shrine and find Buyo, their cat. A centipede demon had made her fall in the well, saying that she held the power of the Shikon no Tama. She didn't know what it was talking about, but when she opened her eyes, she was in the Feudal era. Then she met the villagers and Kaede. There she learned about being Kikyo's incarnation._

_After that, the centipede demon attacked Kagome when she was by the Goshinboku and him. The demon started to squeeze Kagome to the tree. With an act that went against Kaede's advice, Kagome freed him. He destroyed the demon, but before he could get to the girl and take the jewel she had, Kaede had an enchanted rosary around his neck, with one key word that would take him to kiss the ground. Ever since, he had become fonder of Kagome, protecting her against the Thunder brothers and other dangers as best as he could, crying when he thought she was dead, and fighting for her and with her when demons came after her for the shards, or when Koga came to try and convince her to take his hand in marriage. But he always hid his emotions when he was asked about them and beating up Miroku when he was getting a little too close to Kagome, especially when they first met him at a village._

A strange smell permeated his senses while he dreamed. Snapping his eyes open, he looked around. He saw his brother watching the surrounding area, as if he knew that what ever was out there was going to attack. A snap of a twig sounded through the little campsite, never disturbing the humans. Ears swivelling to pinpoint the sound, they saw the same sight at the same time.

A woman wearing a pure black dress, her eyes as dark as the night appeared. They seemed to pierce the soul. Her long, grey hair floated around her like a living cape. She seemed to float above ground. When she spoke, her voice was hard and harsh like a winter's wind.

" The hanyou Inuyasha. Ah, and his half brother, Sesshoumaru," She said. " How better can this get?"

" No better for you," Inuyasha replied and drew the Tetsusaiga, the fang's energy swirling around it in a small storm. The transformation of the blade made it a deadly weapon.

" If that is what you say, what would you say if I told you I had her? The one you love so dearly?" the strange demoness asked.

" I'd get the information out of you and then I'd kill you. Relatively simple," The hanyou answered, the Tetsusaiga's blade glowing a fraction as Inuyasha prepared to hurl a windscar at the dark demoness.

" You see there is the problem with that, I'm afraid. If I don't get there soon, she may die. And the demons keeping her there for me will kill you before you get any where close to the human," The demoness told him. " Can you tell me why she is in your heart? Or why you chose her instead of another half breed?"

" That's none of your business," The hanyou said and threw his attack. The windscar ripped up huge trenches in the earth as it made its way to the demoness from the Tetsusaiga.

Raising her hand, Nianniai deflected the attack. As the sword's energy dissipated, she smirked and stared hard and long at the half demon in front of her, eyes growing cold. She was looking to paralyze him, not damage him permanently. She wanted Kagome to helplessly watch him die before the miko's body was taken for Kaguya's very own destructive use.

Inuyasha felt himself slowly be paralyzed. The Tetsusaiga fell from his numb clawed fingers, the transformation undone. His legs became jelly and he dropped to his knees with a start. As he started to fall face first to the ground, he willed his arms to save him from having his face planted in the ground.

Nianniai watched in utter amazement as the hanyou stopped himself from falling face first. No one could have a will strong enough to resist against her powers; it had never happened before today. She had deliberately used her strongest to keep him paralyzed, and he had resisted it successfully Then her attention was diverted when Sesshoumaru drew one of his two swords and attacked. She lunged away, but the tip of the sword caught a bit of her hair.

Sesshoumaru kept his gaze away from the demoness's. His attack kept her attention away from his little half brother. Again he struck, the blade missing Nianniai completely. At least she wasn't going to kill Inuyasha.

Nianniai kept avoiding the demon lord's attacks as he tried to keep her away from Inuyasha. Her gaze hardened. This time she was going to kill. She willed for all of her power to be directed at the demon lord and kill him, painfully.

Sesshoumaru fell to the ground, his limbs locking solidly on him and turning to jelly. He couldn't move away from the demoness in black, yet he felt compelled to look at Nianniai. His head rose reluctantly, locking gazes with the demoness, gold against darkness. The little bit of pain that he felt in his knee joints while falling was nothing compared to the true power she held within her. His face contorting from the pain, he felt his organs rupturing.

" Keep Rin safe for me!" Sesshoumaru screamed out as the pain became too much for him to handle. With the last word rolling off his lips, he sank down to a heap on the ground, dead, blood seeping from his slack mouth, eyes staring at everything, but never seeing any thing again.

Sango, Miroku and Kohaku woke up in time to see Nianniai disappear. They looked around, seeing the damage of battle, wondering how they couldn't have heard it when they were right beside the ring. They started in fear as an inhuman cry escaped Inuyasha's lips as he saw his brother, dead, blood dripping with agonizingly slow from his mouth. Struggling to get up, he shook off the offered help of Miroku and Kohaku, staggering to Sesshoumaru's side.

" I'll keep that promise, brother," Inuyasha said as he struggled to carry his brother to a remote location, where he buried the youkai lord. Then he found enough rocks to hold up the crude sign he made. Bowing in respect for the dead, he left the area to get to camp and get his sword. As soon as it had transformed again in his hand, his claws began sharpening the blade until he had achieved a perfect killing edge. He ignored the questioning looks from his companions as he worked, finally putting the sword away before he jumped up into a tree to mourn the loss of the last of his family members, even if they had been enemies since after the hanyou was born.

Kagome, Inuyasha thought. I'll get you back, don't worry, and we'll keep Rin, as my brother wanted me to. Our child shall grow up safe. I will protect you and the pup, even if it kills me.

Above him, the stars twinkled as if it was an answer. They shone over the entire world, watching every thing that happened and, yet, feeling absolutely nothing. No remorse or sadness overcame them as they watched the events happened below them.

Shippou watched Inuyasha as he sat in the tree. The young fox demon wanted Kagome back. He felt so alone without her near by when he slept. She gave him comfort that no one had ever given him before. He looked up to Inuyasha as his father, seeing as his real dad was killed by the Thunder brothers because of a simple shard of the Shikon no Tama that he had. And Kagome, well, she was his surrogate mother. She loved him and spoiled him with some of the stuff she brought back with her from her time, especially candy. Settling down, Shippou glanced up at Inuyasha one last time before drifting off to sleep.

" Good night, Inuyasha," He murmured. " My papa."

Inuyasha's white dog-ears bent to his words and relaxed. The smile on his lips was barely visible.

" Good night, Shippou," The hanyou whispered under his breath.

Kami—god

Gomen—sorry

Oi—hey

Youkai—full demon

Hentai—pervert

Hiraikotsu—Sango's weapon

Thanks to those who reviewed and will review. Reminder. I own nothing, but i sometimes wished i did.


	3. Realization of a Seperated Love

Realization of a Separated Love

" Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed out. She could see the youkai in the shadows behind the hanyou about to attack. She watched helplessly as he whirled around, the Tetsusaiga drawn to try and protect her. He was stubborn; not wanting to leave a good fight when the one he loved was in the danger zone. But the mysterious demon in front of them launched an attack of it's own before Inuyasha could hurl a backlash wave from the Tetsusaiga.

_Inuyasha stared dumbly at the tentacle that protruded from his chest. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he died at the end of the tentacle. Chuckling, the demon threw the hanyou's corpse away and stepped into the light._

" _Naraku!" Kagome exclaimed._

" _I hope you have a better life after Kaguya takes your body from you," The demon said as he turned away._

" _I'll fight just as hard as we all fought you," Kagome said and drew her arrow tight over the bow. Taking a good aim, she fired and watched in grim delight as the shaft found its mark, Naraku's forehead._

Kagome woke up, gasping for air. She sat there crying in fear. Naraku was dead, but why was he haunting her dreams? And Inuyasha, was he actually going to die in front of her? She knew that Kaguya had lost her body and wanted to lure Inuyasha to her when the demoness had grabbed her at her castle about a year ago, trying to transform Inuyasha into a full youkai. That was the time when Naraku had faked his death, but he didn't this time. He had appeared in his own flesh and blood and had lost his head to Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga when they had battled four months past.

" Baka," She scolded herself for being such an idiot. Naraku was dead; she had seen it herself. Why was she worrying? If had faked his death, again, he didn't have control over Kohaku and couldn't use him against the rest of the gang like he did at the Kaguya's castle.

" _I love you as a half demon,"_ her voice played the line through her mind as the memory of kissing the hanyou as he transformed into a youkai to keep him the way he was sprang to her imagination.

What ever was going to happen, she was sure to going to keep the child she carried safe from any type of danger. With that thought locked firmly in her mind, she promptly went to a corner in her cell to empty her queasy stomach. Her morning sickness was a pain nowadays.

Inuyasha leapt from the tree when the sun rose. His sleep had been hauntingly disturbing during the night. For some reason, he kept seeing Kagome dying, and his own first pup being used against him. And to make it even weirder, the realm of dreams had deemed that his pup would be much stronger than him, and having him being thrown around like a stick of absolutely nothing. Trembling slightly from the thoughts, the silver-haired hanyou walked over to his older brother's grave. He made sure that no one had disturbed it during the night. This one was only temporarily. After he got Kagome back from the demoness in black, he would stop here and bring his brother back to Kaede's village and bury him somewhere on the outskirts of the town.

Shippou woke up when Inuyasha left the camp. Quietly, the kitsune got up and followed his newfound dad. When the hanyou stopped at his brother's grave, the little fox demon sat down and waited for a while before going up to the hanyou. When he reached the half demon's side, Shippou clambered up on Inuyasha's shoulder.

" Inuyasha?" he asked.

" Shippou, what do you want?" Inuyasha demanded.

" I came to see if you were all right," When he got no answer from the inu hanyou, the fox demon continued. " Well, are you all right?"

" No," Inuyasha whispered. When he looked up from staring at the ground, the kitsune saw the tears in the hanyou's golden eyes. " If Kagome dies, I'll going crazy, Shippou. I love her with all my heart, but, if any thing happens to her, I swear some one will get hurt. And that would be if my pup went with her as well."

" You'll get her back and see your pup grow up. You know that and I know that, but does this demoness know it?" Shippou pointed out.

Inuyasha nodded at the orphan youkai's logic. When he got up to leave, Shippou held on tightly to the half demon's red, fire rat haori to keep himself from being swept off. The hanyou grunted, not his usual kind of grunt that he gave out. It was a grunt of caring and understanding, something that he kept a secret deep inside of him and never let out all that often. He had to make sure that others who saw him didn't take him as a soft hearted half-breed. He wanted others to fear him and not bother him.

Smiling, Shippou ducked to avoid a low branch. The little kitsune was sure that if Inuyasha failed in getting Kagome back, he would go on a revenge spree. If any one got in his way, they had better run from the hanyou. And even then, there was a good chance that the hanyou would turn youkai, without Kagome to 'sit' him or the power of the Tetsusaiga to keep him hanyou.

When they got back to camp, Kohaku was up and already making their breakfast. He knew that his sister and the monk she was married to would get up and out of each other's embrace when the food was ready. He nodded a polite but curt hello to the hanyou and the orphan youkai before turning back to the food he was cooking over the fire.

" Get them up, will you?" the boy asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of Sango and Miroku.

" Sango!" Shippou yelled out as he jumped onto the demon exterminator, startling her awake.

" Oi, monk, get up," Inuyasha said as he rolled Miroku out of his sleeping roll. He watched as the monk rolled out of the bag and into a nearby tree, He listened to his muttered curses as he sat by the fire. " We have a long way to go today, baka."

Miroku rubbed his head where he had connected with the tree. He scowled at the inu hanyou as he sat down and accepted a dish of food. With a sudden impulse, he let his hand stray a little too close to Sango's butt. He couldn't help it, even if he knew it would cost him.

" Hentai!" Sango screamed as she took her hiraikotsu and whacked Miroku on the head, giving him a matching bump on the other side of his skull. " You… You…. Kami, stop doing that!"

" Oh, but my Sango, I do it for you," Miroku said as he tried to give his wife a kiss to say he was sorry. All he received was a slap across the face, Sango's hand leaving its bright red print on his cheek.

Inuyasha watched the spectacle in front of him with no interest. He had seen it a hundred times over. So did Shippou. They just dug into their food. Kohaku didn't have the pleasure of that. He gaped at his sisters' antics with an open mouth. He was shocked about her actions, but then he closed his mouth when he realized that Miroku had been doing this act of his for a long time, longer than from the time he had regained his memory.

And that was true. Sure, since Sango and Miroku had joined Inuyasha's little group, Miroku had continued to asked woman to bear his child. But he had also decided to grope Sango's butt. Every time he did that, he received a slap or hiraikotsu across the head. At least the monk had finally admitted his love to the demon exterminator, but he never did stop grabbing her butt, and that cost him. Too bad it never gave him any decency or any better manners.

After every one had finished with their breakfasts, The group packed up and went on their way, relying on Inuyasha's sense of smell to tell them were the demoness had gone. They had travelled for most of the day when Inuyasha said he smelt a demon nearby. Unsheathing the Tetsusaiga, the hanyou charged forward, followed by the rest of his group on Kirara.

Up ahead, the hanyou spotted a type of scorpion demon. Its red eyes watched as the hanyou approached, the transformed Tetsusaiga held low in front of him. The scorpion youkai hissed at the hanyou and lashed out with its tail, the poison barb at the tip glistening with venom. Dodging the attack, the hanyou kept up his little game before he decided to attack with the windscar.

He took too long. The scorpion demon lashed out again with its tail, causing Inuyasha to dodge, but this time a claw caught the half breed demon in mid-flight. He gasped at the sharp pain before crying out. The claw dug into his chest, crushing his lungs. Unable to draw air into his lungs, the half demon kicked his legs uselessly in the air. The Tetsusaiga slipped from numbing fingers, Inuyasha could only watch as Kirara flew in, her mouth open, fangs bared. The fire cat demon's fangs bit through the claw's arm, but the claw was still reluctant to let go of its prey.

Sango directed Kirara down to the claw that was holding Inuyasha. Swinging her hiraikotsu with all her might, the taijiya smiled as her weapon cut through the claw's arm. Stopping Kirara beside the unconscious hanyou, Sango let her brother and Shippou off so that they could take care of him while she and Miroku fought the scorpion demon. Sango ordered Kirara to fly to its head while Miroku prepared some sutras to be thrown at the demon. Swinging her hiraikotsu at the demon again, Sango yelled at Miroku to throw the sutras. The paper landed on target, on the demon's face and eyes. In a moment, Sango's hiraikotsu thundered into the demon's back, killing it almost instantly as the sharpened edge cut through its spinal column.

Kohaku, was busy taking off Inuyasha's haori to check how the half demon's chest was when his sister, Kirara and Miroku landed. Every one gathered around to see if the half demon was indeed all right. As the rest of the hanyou's haori was removed, the humans and youkai sighed in relief.

Luckily, the hanyou didn't receive permanent damage. He was bruised and there was sure to be a couple of ribs cracked. At least they would heal with time. But what worried every one were the raw, bloody cuts on the hanyou's abdomen. Though all they could do was bandage them up, they didn't feel any better without covering them with some type of ointment. But no one had any; the medical kit was back at Kaede's village in the old miko's hut.

They decided to make camp, but put some distance from the demon's corpse as it started to decompose. Dragging Inuyasha away from the site, Sango covered the half demon with a blanket up before helping the others prepare the camp. Shippou watched over his new dad as it started to rain. Kohaku and Miroku hurriedly set up a couple of lean-tos where every one could rest out of the rain. The young boy was a great help around camp.

Shippou lay down after having a bit of the sparse meal that had been thrown together. He sighed as he cuddled against Inuyasha's arm, eyes closing almost immediately after he found a comfortable spot.

Later that night, Inuyasha woke up to find bandages on his chest and stomach, and a certain little fox demon cuddled against his arm. Gingerly, he placed his arm around the demon and snuggled him between his side and arm. He smiled when the orphan youkai tightly grabbed his haori. Eyes closing, he fell asleep with a tiny grin in his face.

Kaede gathered herbs, keeping a close eye on Rin as the little girl giggled as she put flowers on the toad, Jaken. The curses he uttered where nowhere near ear wilting, but the elderly miko decided enough was enough. She didn't want the girl to start saying the words. She was too sweet to start with those words. Then again, Inuyasha swore colourfully and there was a little kitsune present in the group.

" Rin, Jaken is beautiful," Kaede said to the little girl. " Would you mind decorating my hut?"

" Okay Lady Kaede," The girl replied and dragged the toad with her as she looked for more flowers.

Smiling to herself, the old miko sighed as she got up and brought the herbs to her hut, arranging them on a drying rack. She knew that Rin knew not to touch them, as some were deadly if ingested alone. Closing the fabric door, she went around the village, checking on a couple of patients. They were all doing well and asked about Rin, wanting to know if she was a good a girl as she seemed to be.

" Hai, she is good. Her wanderings with Inuyasha's brother has made her good and able to comply with demands or a simple question," Kaede would respond before she would move on. As she made her way to her hut again, a wolf demon appeared in front of the door.

" Koga, why are ye here?" the old woman asked as she entered her hut, eyes wandering around as Rin she placed flowers every where she could think of.

" Who's that? She smells of inu," The wolf prince demanded.

" She is Rin, the adopted girl of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older half brother. Now ye haven't answered me yet. What do ye want?" Kaede repeated her question.

" I've been smelling a strange new demoness in the area, the first time around the time of Naraku's demise. I smelt her again about five days back. I smelt the blood of an inu two days ago. What is going on?" Koga said, his blue eyes wanting to know what was going on.

" If I told ye, will ye run off and try to be the hero?" Kaede asked the wolf prince, wanting to know if he would chase after Kagome.

" No," the wolf youkai answered.

" Very well then. About five days ago, Sesshoumaru came to speak with his half brother, leaving Rin and Jaken with Kagome. There was an attack. A demoness took Kagome. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Shippou, Kohaku, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru went after her. As for you smelling inu blood, that I can not answer for ye," Kaede said, hand grasping a sturdy stick as Koga seethed.

" Why that mutt! He left Kagome alone. I'll…" Koga ranted as he paced around the hut, scaring Rin.

" What ever ye do, get out of here before ye do," Kaede said as she stirred the fire, adding a couple of sticks to the flames. The flapping of the door covering signalled to her that the wolf demon had left. She sighed to herself. No wonder Kagome was always tired whenever Koga showed up, prompting Inuyasha to start the fight. That wolf was a pain in the ass.

Kagome's thoughts were all over the place. She thought about her relationship with Inuyasha. She loved him and wanted to keep him safe. Hopefully, when they came for her, they didn't forget her bow and arrows. Deeply hidden in her thoughts, she never knew when Nianniai had entered her cell until the demoness spoke out loud, almost in her ear.

" It seems that your hanyou has suffered an injury, and another loss," the demoness whispered. " And you, my dear, will show me what you fear the most."

Kagome tried to run away, but a couple of demons had entered the room and wrapped themselves around her, preventing Kagome from escaping. The demoness in black placed her hand on Kagome's brow and concentrated. The room darkened.

_A younger Kagome sat underneath the Goshinboku, her father tending to the garden around the house. He whistled a tune to himself as he worked. He looked up at his daughter, smiling and waved back to her when she waved at him. He looked down at his work and decided that he had done enough. Getting up and dusting the dirt off himself, he made his way to Kagome, who was busy trying to read _The Three Little Pigs. _He sat down beside her and helped her pronounce the words she couldn't get. When he looked up, there was a young man standing at the shrine entrance._

" May I help you?" Mr. Higurashi asked the man.

" _Yes, I'm looking for a Mr. Higurashi," The man said._

" _I am Mr. Higurashi. What may I do for you?" Mr. Higurashi asked. He suddenly paused in his steps as the young man drew something from underneath his jacket._

_The young man's finger tightened around the trigger of the gun he held. The report of the weapon startled Kagome. She stared as her father fell, clutching his chest, blood flowing, dying from the damage the bullet had caused him._

" _Daddy!" Kagome screamed out._

_The man with the gun turned to her, horror of his deed written on his face. But he soon realized that he couldn't risk being identified. Raising the gun, he levelled it at Kagome, finger tightening up on the trigger again. The bullet dug up a furrow in the ground beside her, causing her to scream in panic. Then there was a flash of red and the man was down, unconscious._

_The flash of red turned around, and looked lovingly at a screaming Kagome. Walking to her, he comforted her and told her how she would be all right and powerful later on in life._

_When she looked up at her saviour, she was surprised to see white dog-ears peeking over the top of a head of long, white hair. His red hakama was rough against her face, absorbing her tears as she shed them._

" _Kagome, listen to me. I have to go now, but I will see you again," The white-haired stranger said before disappearing._

The shock of her father dying in front of her erased the memory of the hanyou from her mind forever. Her mother kept her as safe as she could without restricting her daughter from learning and making new friends.

Kagome screamed as the memory hidden deep within her mind surfaced. The pain and horror of it ate at her. It was no wonder that she had hidden from it after witnessing her father's death and almost dying herself. It was only then that she realized that the stranger from he past was actually Inuyasha, or at least his future self.

" Inuyasha! Oh Kami, bring him here," Kagome screamed as the memory kept filling her mind, no matter what she thought of. The blood and fear that she knew when she was a child reminding her of the people she had seen as they lay on the ground, butchered by demons

" You see, if you had died, nothing would have changed. You living through that ordeal has changed the future," Nianniai said as she left, the demons holding Kagome following her, leaving the sobbing miko alone.

Inuyasha tossed and turned in his sleep, disturbing Shippou. The little kitsune watched silently as the hanyou mumbled something under his breath and then seemed to listen to something or someone else as they spoke to him. Crawling over to Kohaku, he shook the boy awake.

" What is it, Shippou?" The boy asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes with a fist to try and wake himself.

" Shh. Something's up with Inuyasha. He's talking in his sleep and he seems sick. Come take a look." Shippou said, beckoning the young demon exterminator to follow him as he crawled back over to Inuyasha's side.

They went over to see Inuyasha, the hanyou sweating profusely now and obviously talking to some one or some thing as if it was beside him and friendly. Together, the two young ones watched and listened to the hanyou, trying to make sense of his murmured words.

Inuyasha's dream.

Inuyasha walked through a thick fog. It wasn't the miasma of a demon; it was the fog of a ghost. Peering intently, he thought he saw a dog-eared figure walking around. But it disappeared as soon as he took a step to it.

" _Inuyasha," A familiar voice said, causing the hanyou to turn around. The voice belonged to Sesshoumaru._

" _Sesshoumaru? What am I doing in the realm of the dead?" The hanyou asked._

" _This is not my fault that you are here. Go, the one who wishes to speak to you is behind you,' the youkai said and disappeared._

_Turning around, the hanyou watched as a man walked up to him. His eyes were sad, but filled with hope._

" _So you are Inuyasha. I've spoken with your brother," The man said as he stuck out his hand. " You are in love with my daughter and are responsible for impregnating her."_

" _You're Kagome's dad?" The hanyou said, disbelief filling his voice._

" _Hai. I don't have a lot of time. You are looking for her whereabouts, am I right?" Kagome's father asked._

" _Hai," The hanyou replied uncertainly._

" _Go to the north. The demoness, Nianniai, is the sister of Kaguya. She wants to kill you and give my daughter's body to Kaguya. Go save her and take care of your child before that happens," The man said. " She will kill her."_

_Another spectre appeared beside Kagome's father. It was Midoriko. Her battle gear shone brightly, causing Inuyasha to squint slightly._

" _I give you my strength, my armour and my weapons. They will help you in the fight against evil. Use them wisely, and hurry. There is not much time left," The dead warrior spoke to the hanyou before they both disappeared. " The power of good is the victor, and that power is from an inu hanyou."_

" I will do you all proud, Midoriko, father, Sesshoumaru," The hanyou said.

Shippou and Kohaku started at Inuyasha's last words. They came out clearer than the others. They backed away in fear as the hanyou's body glowed a bluish-purple, awakening Miroku and Sango. They stared at the forming armour and weapons around Inuyasha.

As the light abated, Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly. He sat up, silvery-white hair swinging into his eyes as he gasped for air, hands grasping the Tetsusaiga and the new sword at his side. Standing up, he oriented himself to the north, nose sorting through the many scents.

" What is it Inuyasha?" Sango asked, her hands fidgeting with the Hiraikotsu as she watched the half demon.

" Kagome is located to the north," The half-breed said before he took off, faster than the speed he usually ran at. Grinning, he made good progress, following the scent he had finally found hidden beneath those of many, many youkai.

The morning came and Inuyasha found a surprise waiting for him at the next clearing he passed. There, sitting lazily around the place, was Koga and his tribe, Ayame of the northern white wolf tribe, Kirara, Sango, Miroku, Kohaku and Shippou. Skidding to a halt, Inuyasha faced the assembled demons and humans.

" Mutt, do you think that you can really defeat this demoness alone?" Koga asked and that started up the whole fiasco of questions.

" How are you going to do it?"

" What are we going to do while you're off saving us from that bitch? Grow grey hairs?"

" We'll be rusty come the time for another battle."

" You're one really stupid inu if you go off alone."

" You'll need a lot of help, and you know it."

" Why keep us out of the action?"

" We're coming and that is that."

" You can't stop us."

" You can't stop me, papa,"

The last comment came from Shippou. Kneeling in front of the fox demon, Inuyasha smiled and placed the kitsune on his armoured shoulder.

" If you want, you may come, but don't get in my way if you see that bitch, Nianniai, watch out and get out of her way. One look can kill you," The hanyou said. He walked over to Koga and looked him straight in the eye, gold to deep blue. " Understand that, wolf?"

" Yeah I got it," The wolf demon prince said. Shouting out loud to the rest gathered, he spoke out a couple lines that shocked the hanyou. " The miko Kagome is the objective. We are going to retrieve her and destroy a bitch determined to bring back a dead demoness. Let's go stop that bitch!"

The roar the sounded was so deafening that Inuyasha's ears pressed against his head, trying to keep the noise out. As the racket slowly subsided, Inuyasha led the small army of wolves and three humans, one fire cat and an orphan fox demon to the north, following the faint image of Midoriko only Inuyasha could see as she led the hanyou to his destination; Nianniai's castle to the north where Kagome was being kept.

Kirara carried Sango and Miroku. Kohaku rode on one of the wolves. As they marched to what could be their doom, they all seemed extremely confident that they would have their earned victory. But what they couldn't know was how long one simple battle would be, especially against a demoness as strong as Nianniai.

Inuyasha was lost in his own thoughts as he followed the image of Midoriko that he was able to glimpse. He thought about his brother, how he had tried to protect him when Nianniai had tried to paralyze and capture him. But once again, Sesshoumaru had intervened and it had cost him his life. Now the question came to him. How would he break the news to little Rin and that toad, Jaken? But he would fulfil his promise that he had made at the exact moment of his brother's death. He would take care of Rin for the youkai lord no matter what.

Sango watched the hanyou as he marched to his objective. He was quiet, his face betraying nothing of his inner thoughts. She wondered why he was so serene. Usually, he wasn't, being so obnoxious that he deserved and earned a couple of 'sits' a day, maybe even more if he had really pissed Kagome off. But then again, he had claimed the miko as a mate and she knew that he planned to protect her and if anything happened to her, he would blame himself until he reach the end of the world.

" Inuyasha," Midoriko said.

" What?" The hanyou spoke so low that no one knew if he said anything.

" Keep going to the north. I cannot follow you any more. Kami wishes that you find your woman without my help any more. I wish you luck in succeeding though," The dead woman who had created the Shikon no Tama said and vanished from sight.

Sighing, Inuyasha glanced at Shippou. The little fox demon was having fun clinging to the hanyou's shoulder, almost falling asleep with the smooth rocking motion.

" Inuyasha, where did you get this armour? Kohaku and I were watching you when you were sleeping last night and watched it appear. Where did it come from?" the kitsune asked as he ran a finger over the metal.

" Would you believe me if I said that Midoriko and Kagome's father appeared in my dreams last night and Midoriko gave me her armour and strength to help me?" The hanyou replied.

The kitsune was staring at him in disbelief, Inuyasha could feel it. Looking at the child, Inuyasha smiled, a smile that said that what he said was the truth.

" Shippou, it's true, and just now, Midoriko was leading me for a bit, but now she's gone back," Inuyasha said as he turned his gaze back to the land in front of him. " She wants me to find Kagome and keep her and our child safe from harm. I will do that, but I will need your help, if you want to."

" I'll help you Inuyasha. After all, you're my father now, and I'm your son," Shippou said and smiled.

" Then let's go find Kagome and bring her home," Inuyasha said and increased his speed by that little bit that no one would know about. " And I hope you don't mind having Rin in the family. Sesshoumaru wanted me to keep her safe if something happened to him and I intend to care for her."

" As long as she doesn't decide to decorate me with flowers, I'm all right with it, I suppose," Shippou said.

Oi—hey

Baka—idiot

Kami—god

Hentai—pervert

Hai—yes

Miko—priestess


	4. The Attack

The Attack 

Nianniai watched as Kagome puked her guts out in the corner. She was pregnant, it was obvious. Her slightly distended stomach peeked out a bit from under her shirt. Then she found herself wondering about what it would be like to have a child of her own and raise it herself. Shaking the thoughts away, she left the miko in her cell.

Heading to the main room, the black demoness sat at a high backed chair. There were other demons in the room and they silenced themselves as she entered. She knew that they feared her powers and hence her.

" What do we know?" She asked, facing those assembled. These were the ones she trusted more because they wanted her to be ruler over the humans.

" The half demon Inuyasha is heading this way, milady. He leads a small army of about two to three hundred wolf youkai who refuse to come under your command, mistress," A crow demon spoke out loud, its voice squawking minutely. " His friends, the three humans, the fire cat and the fox child are with him as well. My spies have reported that the night before, he was enveloped in a type of miasma as he slept, and armour formed on him, along with an extra sword. Details are not clear, though it is said that it was a pure miasma from persons or youkai unknown."

" How are we handling this?" Nianniai demanded, not wanting the only chance for her sister to come back to be reduced to ashes after all the time she had worked on her plan of sweet revenge.

" All of our forces are currently gathered in the court yard, waiting for your word to attack. We have decided to let them within sight of the castle before attacking them. We have a few spies following and monitoring their progress continually. They are making good progress and should be here in about two nights, reaching the wall at midnight on the second day, it is estimated."

" Indeed. Continue monitoring them and keep giving me updates as they happen," Nianniai said and left to have some private time. " Get me our dear friend from her cell and bring her to my chambers."

Kagome sat in the dark on the cold stone floor, hands closing around a sharp rock that she had pried off from the wall a while ago. Grasping the dull end tightly, she waited patiently as the wooden door opened, revealing a female demon backlit from the light. Her red hair floated around her serenely, matching her red eyes and dress.

" Come," The demoness said, extending an arm to Kagome.

" What do you want?" Kagome asked, stalling for time.

" That I do not know, but you are to come with me. Milady wishes to see you in her chambers," The demoness in red said, taking a couple of steps toward Kagome as she spoke.

At that, Kagome launched herself at the demoness, the rock held steady in front of her and pointed at the vulnerable throat of the red demoness, who had stepped within striking range of Kagome's attack. The sharp end drew blood as it punctured the artery. Screaming, the demoness staggered back. Slowly, her screams subsided as she drowned in her own blood.

As she tried to make a run for it, a dark coloured crow demon, which had been hiding by the open cell door, grabbed her arms tightly with its feet. It held her there until another demon in human form came down to the cell to get her and bring her up to Nianniai's chamber.

Nianniai stood by her window, gazing out on the assembled demons that waited to go out and kill the approaching miniature army. When the door opened, she didn't turn around, even when she heard a grunt as a foot collided solidly with a shin.

" Leave her," The black demoness said. As soon as the door slammed shut, Nianniai turned around to face Kagome as the miko rubbed her arms.

" What do you want with me?" The raven-haired miko asked, repeating the same question she had asked the red-haired female demon.

" You love that hanyou and he loves you very much. Did you know that he is on his way here to rescue you with an army of two wolf tribes and your friends? As long as I have you, he won't attack me if he thinks that I'll hurt you," Nianniai whispered harshly, grabbing one of Kagome's arms and twisting it cruelly behind her back. " You, my princess, are my bargaining chip."

Letting the miko go, Nianniai called for a guard and a leg chain for Kagome. As soon as the chain had arrived, the guard put it on Kagome's legs and immediately attached it to a solid iron ring cemented to the ground. Leaving, the guard slapped Kagome's butt before exiting the room and closing the door.

Nianniai rolled her eyes at the demon guard's antics before taking advantage of having no observers in the same room with her, and started her torturing of Kagome. Slapping the miko, the demoness smirked at Kagome's cry of pain as she clasped her hand to her cheek.

The next two days were painful ones for Kagome, but ones of great amusement for Nianniai.

Inuyasha slowed down. The path in front of him was dangerously steep. Turning around, he spoke to his army.

" Listen, the path here is steep like hell, so watch yourselves," The hanyou said before turning back to the path. He slowly started down, and felt Shippou grab onto his haori to keep himself from falling off. Glancing up, he saw Kirara take to the air, carrying Sango, Miroku and Kohaku across the path, which led to a large gorge. At least, if anything serious happened, they could help the others cross.

Midway down the path, a snake demon popped up from behind a couple of very large boulders. It was larger than large. It struck out at Inuyasha. Dodging the blow, he stuffed Shippou beside a rock. Drawing Tetsusaiga, the hanyou called upon the power of the windscar to him and hurled it at the youkai. The attack hit the snake's tail, causing an angered youkai to lash out wildly. The large rocks at the edge of the gorge trembled, finally falling on the youkai and killing it.

Inuyasha grabbed little Shippou from beside the rock and ran for it, the avalanche not that far away. A boulder crashed beside the hanyou, making a startled Shippou climb over Inuyasha's eyes, preventing him from seeing anything. Then something smacked into the small of his back, making him wince in pain.

Shippou was thrown free as Inuyasha went down on one knee. He watched, horrified as a mid-sized rock bounced off the hanyou's head. He saw the hanyou fall unconscious as he scrambled to the half demon. As he reached Inuyasha, he squeezed his eyes shut in fear just as another boulder fell to them.

After the dust had settled, everyone stared at the place where Inuyasha and Shippou were last seen. It was a pile of rubble. Kirara landed by the pile, letting the three humans off her before they started digging. The rocks and rubble shifted, the dust rising in thick clouds as they dug, some of the smaller rocks tumbling off the mound and landing the humans' feet.

Ayame hurried down the path, going to help the humans unbury the hanyou. She knew that it was only Inuyasha that could defeat the new demoness, Nianniai. After all, he had defied her powers once; he could do it again, right?

Inuyasha woke up to a harsh throbbing in his head. His back hurt like hell, but he could live with it, considering he got out from under the rubble some time soon. He felt Shippou's tail tickling his nose. The kitsune was unresponsive to his hacking calls. The dust in his lungs became so thick that he couldn't breath very well. As he slipped back into the darkness of unconsciousness, he heard his name being called. He tried to answer who ever it was, but nothing would respond to his brain's commands.

Sango found Inuyasha first, the taijiya working furiously to free him from the ensnaring rubble as she called for help. With all of them working on freeing Inuyasha and Shippou, they got them out in no time. Bringing the unconscious hanyou and fox demon to the top of the path, they threw water on their faces to revive them.

Shippou sputtered as he inhaled some of the water that had been thrown on him. He cracked his eyes open. Coughing, he sat up and looked around. He saw all of his friends and a still unconscious Inuyasha beside him. He wasn't breathing at all.  
" Papa? Wake up, Inuyasha, please," Shippou whispered. But Inuyasha didn't stir at his pleading words. He broke down, tears spilling down his cheeks as he realized that Inuyasha might be dead.

Kohaku watched as the fox demon cried over the hanyou's still form. He felt pity for the young demon as he cried for his new adoptive parent. Then there was a bright purplish-blue light, the same kind as the night before. That caused all the commotion that followed.

Inuyasha inhaled and coughed weakly. He could see the light and feel its warmth as it enveloped him. He could feel Shippou's tears as they fell on him. Raising a clawed hand, he dried the tears off the fox demon's face.

Shippou stared at Inuyasha as the hanyou as his hand wiped the tears from his face. Smiling through the tears, the fox youkai hugged his new father. His rust coloured hair pressed against the hanyou as he cried in relief.

Groaning, Inuyasha tried to get up on his own, but his back cried out in pain. Grimacing, he let himself lay back down. He felt hands helping him stand up and saw Sango and Miroku helping him stand up on his feet. Kirara let the hanyou lean on her as he caught his breath. He knew Shippou was on his shoulder, but he couldn't feel anything at the moment.

" Kami, you can dance with the devil and make him back down!" Koga said as he approached and inspected the hanyou. Whispering low enough so only Inuyasha could hear, he said. " You are in no shape to continue. Let me lead them." His hand snaked its way carefully and quickly to the new sword Inuyasha had received from Midoriko. He knew that the Tetsusaiga was protected from youkai like him, so he avoided it.

Inuyasha grabbed the wolf demon's hand and held it rock steady away from the sword. Baring his teeth in a warning, the hanyou threw Koga to the ground and drew Midoriko's sword. The blade had a blue tint in the worked metal. An undecipherable message ran down the blade and onto the hilt. The golden guard curved elegantly around the hanyou's hand as he pointed the weapon at Koga's throat. Every one fell silent as they watched the spectacle in front of them.

" Can you read what this says? If you can, you are allowed to lead them. If you can't back down!" Inuyasha hissed angrily.

Looking at the sword blade and hilt, the wolf prince tried to make out what the writing said, but could make no heads or tails out of it.

" I… I can't," Koga said.

" Midoriko told me that it meant 'the power of good is the victor, and that power is from an inu hanyou'," Inuyasha stated as he sheathed the sword Midoriko gave him. " I'm an inu hanyou, I'm fighting for good, and hence Midoriko gave it to me, not you, you wimpy wolf."

Inuyasha looked around for a moment before he spoke again. This time his voice lowered in pain and sadness. " I was chosen for a suicide run against a black demoness, like my parents told me when I was very young. They knew my fate before I ever did."

Kagome lifted her head in pain as she regarded Nianniai. The demoness had sat by the window of her chambers all evening on a stool. Today was the second day that the miko had been brought up from her cell for torture, but had been mostly questioned instead. Surprisingly, not much had been done to her, except for a few bruises and cuts on her face, but she knew that they wanted her to look as if she hadn't been through hell and back again so she wouldn't be unwanted.

" Tonight is the night when your hanyou is supposed to come," Nianniai said, turning away from her watch at the window. It was the first time she had spoken that evening. Her voice was calm for one who would face a vengeful hanyou in a little while. It was strange. She felt confident that she would win against the hanyou when the battle commenced.

" I hope he kills you slowly," Kagome said as she wiped blood from her lip, brown eyes burning in hatred.

" Oh, so you wish it that much," Nianniai said. " But let me tell you something that you might not know about. There is a tale of a silver-haired hanyou fighting against a black demoness with extraordinary powers of sight. Turns out, he dies in the long run after a long battle."

" No," Kagome whispered, horrified that maybe the hanyou Nianniai was talking about was Inuyasha.

" Yes, I suspect that it is your hanyou as well," Nianniai said as she turned back to the window. Midnight was approaching fast. " He is coming and soon he will be here to get you back and die."

At her words, a war cry sounded from outside the wall. Wolves howled, a fire cat screeched and humans yelled. Glancing out the window, Nianniai saw what she needed to know.

Inuyasha was leading the attack. He held two swords: one she had seen when she had first encountered him, the Tetsusaiga, the other a new one. It was a beautiful weapon and she would take it when the hanyou was killed. She knew not to touch the fang from his father, seeing as it was protected against full demons like her from taking it and wielding the power.

" Guard!" Nianniai shouted. As soon as the demon had entered, she turned to it. " Bring her."

Complying with the order, the demon guard brought Kagome down to the main room and attached the chain to another floor ring. The guard left to join the battle as Nianniai drew a sword and stood guard in front of Kagome.

Meanwhile, the sounds of the battle grew louder and louder as each second passed with agonizing slowness.

A wall guard watched from his tower, sounding the alarm as he fended off a couple of wolves as they entered his tower. Nianniai would kill him if he let any of the intruders in to attempt their rescue attempt. He saw a silver-haired demon come towards his tower. This was not a demon. What was he thinking? It was the hanyou, Inuyasha. The guard noticed the two swords in his hands. He had heard about the Tetsusaiga; its powers were legendary. And the new sword he held was a beauty. Too bad that its beauty held deadly consequences. Fumbling with his own sword, he felt, actually felt, the new sword as it cut him in two.

Inuyasha waited as Kirara landed at the tower, letting the taijiya, the monk and the young man off her before she went back to the battle. Shippou still clung to his shoulder; he hadn't left the post since the avalanche of stones and the encounter with the snake demon. He was scared of the battle, but at least he knew that if he stayed on Inuyasha's shoulder, he was safe from any demon's attempt to get him.

Sango, Miroku and Kohaku followed Inuyasha as he fought his way through an endless mass of demons to reach the castle. At least with two swords, many more of the enemy were slain, leaving that bit little for the wolves to take care of. Sango's hiraikotsu thundered through demon flesh as if it was paper. Miroku's staff wrecked havoc on them and Kohaku's chained sickle cut down any demons that tried to get them by blindsiding them.

The guard who had brought Kagome down to the main room with Nianniai saw Inuyasha fighting his way to the castle. He hid by a niche in the wall, waiting until Inuyasha neared and passed so he could surprise him.

Inuyasha hurried past the niche. His nose was clogged with the scent of demons and couldn't detect the demon guard waiting in the niche for him to pass. He saw the sword and tried to get out of its way, but was a little too slow. The blade found the flesh of his leg. Whipping Midoriko's sword at the demon, he waved the others onward to find Kagome.

Shippou started when the demon guard slashed at Inuyasha. He leapt off and onto Miroku's shoulder with a couple of leaps. The monk never said anything as he continued on his way to find Kagome and bring her home.

Inuyasha kept his sword held level in front of him as he faced the demon guard. His leg felt like lead at the moment, but he couldn't take the chance to look at it, even for a second. It would cost him his life if he did. Though the blood slowly congealed on his hakama, the hanyou knew that he had to hurry up. This battle could not go on until tomorrow night; that was the night of the new moon, the only night in a month when he turned human. With a sudden lunge, the half demon slashed back at the offender, Midoriko's blade biting deeply into the demon guard's chest, the Tetsusaiga swinging in from the other side. The fang drew blood, bone and flesh as it bit into the demon's head, ending its suffering.

Other demons ran in, trying to subdue the half-inu youkai as he tried to get inside the castle. Wolves rushed in, their fangs biting deep into demon flesh, claws furrowing gashes in the hides of the demons. Inuyasha helped them destroy them, the swords swinging into torsos, limbs and heads alike. The wolves followed Inuyasha as he made his way to the castle. He finally reached it, meeting with his friends, who were waiting by the door that led to the main room. Shoving the door open, the hanyou led the small group of wolves and his friends. Darkness greeted them as they made their way deeper in the room.

" Welcome, the hanyou, Inuyasha," A female voice said. " Have you come to your doom?"

The cones flared with bright fire, revealing Nianniai holding a sword, and Kagome behind her, her legs bound with chain that was attached to the ground.

Kagome listened to the sounds of battle. Roars and cries of the injured and dying reach her ears, but she tried to block out the sounds that brought back painful memories, including the one of her father dying in front of her. They were reminders of past battles where many innocent people had died because of demons that were after the shards of the Shikon no Tama. She knew that they had wanted the power of the jewel for their very own, but at the time she wondered why it had to be her. Why she had to be the one who was the reincarnation of Kikyo. Why she had the power of the Shikon no Tama inside her and why she had to shatter it. Ever since her fall down the well, she had wondered these questions, wanting to know the answer, but now she finally knew them. It was the love that she would know when she had met Inuyasha. It wouldn't have been the same if she had loved Hojo, married him and have his kids.

Inuyasha, son of Inutaisho and Izayoi. His name brought the image of his face, the feel of his silky silver-white hair. She could almost feel his lips on hers; hear the way he talked to her when they shared the same bed. Closing her eyes, she could see his face, the only thing that kept her from losing her mind. And now she was going to have a child of her own. She would go back when she felt that it was almost time to give birth. Not that she hated it here to give birth, she wanted to make sure that she would live using the implications of modern medicine from her time.

Opening her eyes, one thought ran through her mind as she remembered the fact that Nianniai wanted her body for Kaguya. ' If I get out of here, I'll get Kaede to help me learn more about my powers so I can protect myself.'

The door slammed open, revealing a backlit inu hanyou, her friend and wolves, both in human form and in normal wolf shape. She wanted to cry out to them to tell them that she was here, but the look Nianniai gave her paralyzed her. Unable to make a single move or noise, Kagome could only watch as they made their way into the dark room, unaware of their presence.

" Welcome, the hanyou, Inuyasha," Nianniai said. " Have you come to your doom?"

The cones flared to life. The demoness watched as their facial expressions revealed their surprise as they took in the sight. She smiled as the wolves rushed to her. Her gaze swept over them, stopping them in their tracks. She held her power as Inuyasha approached her, ignoring the cries from his friends to stay away from her, that she might attack him right then and there.

" You want me to come to my doom?" The hanyou stated as he stopped roughly twenty to thirty feet away, His gaze slid to Kagome, who was still paralyzed, but able to understand what was being said. " But if you want me to die, you'll have to earn my death." Drawing Midoriko's sword, he went to Kagome, roughly shouldering Nianniai aside. He swung the sword with all of his might, severing the chain that held his love to her spot. He carried her to Miroku and Sango, where they immediately knelt beside her and started to treat the cuts on her face.

Shippou gasped when he saw Kagome. The miko was hurt, but at least she was alive and her child wasn't harmed. The cuts on her face were a bit ghastly, but they would heal with some time. He went to her, patting her hair gently, like she did to him whenever he had a nightmare. He talked to her as he stroked her hair.

" Kagome, wake up, please," The kitsune whispered, pleading with his surrogate mother as she lay in front of him, unable to move or acknowledge that she heard him. He sat there, staring at her, tears welling up in his eyes.

Kagome lay in what seemed to be a fair approximation of hell. She could hear Shippou pleading with her to wake up, but she couldn't even say his name. She wanted so much to reach out and hold the kitsune, but with Nianniai's spell still in effect, she couldn't even lift an eyelid.

' Kagome,' a voice called to her in her mind. It was familiar.

' Midoriko?' Kagome replied in kind by thought.

' Get up. A priestess with your powers should be able to move, even with a paralyzing spell upon you. Inuyasha did the same thing when Nianniai came and tried to capture him, ending with his half brother's death. Get up,' Midoriko told her via thought, almost shouting at her.

' How? She is so strong, her youki so strong. It is hard to move,' Kagome said.

' You must. Inuyasha will fight to his death if you do not help him. Remember how he saved you when your father was killed? He had survived, and that means that you had moved, broken the spell. That was the only way he could save you five hundred years later. You had went through the well those five centuries ago, and he knew that you needed to be saved.' Midoriko said. ' And your child, who will protect her if Inuyasha is killed and your body is given to Kaguya?'

' My child? Yes, I should at least try, but what will I do if I succeed? I don't know how to control my powers yet. I need help,' Kagome said.

' I will help you, but first you must get up and face the demoness,' Midoriko said, fading as she spoke.

Shippou stared in amazement as Kagome's eyes turned to him. He saw her get up, ever so slowly get up, but it was enough. She was fighting the spell that Nianniai cast on her. It was a struggle, but she was doing her best to win it.

" Kagome!" Shippou screeched, unable to stop himself from running into her arms as she tried to get up. All eyes turned to him, widening as they saw Kagome getting up.

" That can't be. First the hanyou is able to withstand my power, and now a mere human," Nianniai told herself, but it was happening, the proof was in front of her.

" I am not a mere human, Nianniai," Kagome said as she got to her knees. She was sweating from the exhaustion and strain that fighting the spell caused her. " I am a miko, the reincarnation of not Kikyo, but Midoriko, but my powers are much stronger than hers were ever. I know that Midoriko will help me and she will help Inuyasha." Looking at the hanyou, she shot him a startling smile. " I will help him the way he helped me when a man tried to kill me after he had murdered my father. Thank you for showing me the memory that would help me, bitch."

Sango gasped. To have her father murdered in front of her when she was just a girl was as similar to her life. But to have the hanyou save her, and then meet him again, would she have remembered? No, shock would erase any memory connected to it.

Shippou jumped up on Kagome's shoulder, He knew how it was to lose his family. His father was the last to go, killed by the Thunder brothers. When he met Kagome and Inuyasha, he felt as if his prayers had been answered. But what had turned from an ordinary friendship had turned to the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha were now his parents.

Miroku thought back to the time when his mother and father had died. The curse that Naraku had placed on his family was at its worst, the black hole eventually sucking up the monk's father. It was a sad time, learning how to use the wind tunnel and protecting others from it. He always wanted some attention, but never kept his promises, afraid that the girls would become pregnant and bear a child who had a black hole in their hand. It would have been his nightmare-come true.

Inuyasha smiled at Kagome's words. Yes, he had lost his family as well when he was very young, but being a hanyou, his youkai heritage prevented him from mourning the loss forever. When his mother had died, he felt the loss overcome him and he had spent a few days going without food, until when the kids a bit older than him came to beat him up, he had snapped. Going berserk, he reaped them, leaving only minor damage. After that no one bothered him. They were afraid of him. They had always thought that he was like his mother, gentle and weak, but when Inuyasha had cracked a few limbs, they steered clear of the hanyou, giving a bit of food if he asked for any, which was very rare. Slowly, they learned that mourning the loss of the final family member had done this to him, and tried to become friends. By that time, he had left, not to be seen by them ever again.

Kagome walked over to Inuyasha and planted a kiss on his lips. She looked up into those golden eyes of his.

" Are you ready for this?" Inuyasha asked, sheathing the Tetsusaiga, holding only Midoriko's sword.

" Hai," Kagome replied.

Midoriko appeared before them. She gazed at Kagome and at Inuyasha. They made a great couple.

" Kagome, concentrate. Think of you weapon and tendrils of your power wrapping around it," The dead warrior said.

" I don't have my arrows," Kagome said.

" It doesn't matter. Concentrate. When you feel your power rise, shape it with your mind. It will conform to your desire. Use it wisely," Midoriko said. " Don't worry if you have trouble grasping it, it will come to you. You are very powerful; it may take some energy, but you will over come it."

As Kagome concentrated, Midoriko disappeared. Slowly, she felt her powers fighting against her tentative control, but she concentrated harder, thinking of her arrows. When she opened her eyes, there was a surprise.

There in her hands, was her arrows and her bow, glowing pink, marking it as her own pure power. Raising the bow, armed with an arrow, she smirked and turned back to Inuyasha.

" Lets do it," She whispered to him, and fired.

Youki—magic

Youkai—full demon

Taijiya—demon exterminator

Hanyou—half demon

Hai—yes

Miko—priestess

Inu—dog

Kitsune—fox


	5. The battle

The Battle 

Nianniai watched in horror as Kagome's arrow flew to her. She could see the power, feel it pulsing as it sped to her. She couldn't do anything to stop it. For the first time in her life, she felt helpless. Backed up against the wall as she was, she could only watch as the shaft thudded into the wall by her head.

Kagome smiled at the look of shock on Nianniai's face. It was a priceless look of shock and fury. She was still grinning when she took out another arrow and notched it on her bow.

" You know, I never miss twice. So why don't we try again, hmm?" Kagome asked, aiming the arrow at Nianniai for a second time.

" Nah, Kagome, why don't you let me take care of her?" Inuyasha asked, placing a hand on his love's shoulder.

" If you want to, I suppose you can go ahead and kill her if you want," Kagome said as she lowered the point of her arrow to the ground, the bow slack. She felt Shippou climb up to her shoulder, his favourite spot.

Inuyasha kept Midoriko's sword held steady as he approached Nianniai. He could see the blade's blue tint grow brighter, as if it was magic, longing to help out destroy the black demoness standing mockingly in front of him. He smiled, barely raising the weapon just before he attacked.

Nianniai spun away from the sword that sought her flesh. Her own sword swung out to the hanyou, but the tip only pinged off the armour that covered the inu half demon. Snarling, the demoness swung her sword again and again, missing the half demon by mere inches with each swing that she took. Taking her weapon in a two handed grip, she ran at the hanyou full tilt, the blade pointed at his heart, shrieking out in effort and raw anger.

Lunging away from the sword blade, Inuyasha countered the strike with his sword, deflecting the weapon to the side. But he never did see the strike she aimed at his leg, but felt the blood trickle down the limb. Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, he concentrated on the battle at hand.

Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, Kagome, Shippou and Kirara watched as they fought. The miko thought, even though it was a dangerous sport, that it looked like a dance, like the ones that she had taken part of in the plays at her school. Then a thought burst up from the depths of her mind. What would her friends think of her condition and her child? She had a feeling that the child she carried would be like Inuyasha, dog-ears and all. But she didn't really care because after the baby was born, she was coming back to the feudal era to be with her friends. Four months pregnant already, and still counting for the full nine months! What a wait to only have a single reward, but a reward that would be something special.

Shippou clung to Kagome's shoulder, watching the battle in fearful fascination as Inuyasha fought Nianniai in a hell of an effort to kill her and exact revenge for the death of his brother and taking Kagome when she was helpless, doing nothing but talking with Rin. The kitsune could clearly see the hanyou's anger as the half demon tried to restrain the raging emotion, but failed miserably. His anger gave him power and strength, but it was giving Nianniai an advantage, the only advantage in that battle, that she had immediately noted and was using. She started to taunt him to increase his anger and make him make a mistake.

" Your brother was a much better fighter than you, but look where he is right now," Nianniai said, watching with anticipated glee as the hanyou responded to the comment fiercely. She avoided the first couple of blows from the angered half inu youkai, but received one deep, jagged gash across her shoulder and arm when he swung wildly at her. The sting of the cut was severe and she knew that a nerve had been severed. Damn, he did have good aim though.

" That all you can do? I've seen humans who can fight better than you," Nianniai taunted again. This time, when the inu hanyou rushed in to attack her again, she swung her sword at him with such a precision that left no doubt in any one's mind that she truly wanted him dead.

Inuyasha fell like a rock. Unconscious as he was, he was a perfect target for Nianniai. Midoriko's sword skittered away from his grip when he hit the ground. He couldn't do anything as the darkness took him.

Kagome told Shippou to get off as she reached for the sword that had escaped Inuyasha's grip. Taking Midoriko's earlier advice on how to control her powers, she concentrated on the sword, letting her power flow into the blade like a river, watching in utter fascination as the sword started to glow a light pink. Looking up at Nianniai, she headed over and stood in front of the down hanyou, blocking the demoness's attempt to get near him and kill him.

" You will not harm what is mine," she said and attacked, twirling away like a true dancer, the long skirt she had chosen over the shorter one, twisting around her legs as Nianniai sought to impale her on her sword. She used her talent that she had kept hidden from every one in this era; dancing. She was good enough, but never wanted others to see how well she danced.

The others watched on in amazement as Kagome avoided by the blows and strikes from Nianniai by simply dancing. She had a graceful form, the ability to bend her body enough to duck under the blows. Her muscles tightened with strain as she swung the sword in a perfect circle, going up and down as she spun. It was a new technique, and one that was very effective. Her power flew from the tip of Midoriko's sword, but miraculously, Nianniai had avoided the brunt of the miko's power.

Nowhere near tired, Kagome fought on, her body becoming like an elastic, pliable, snapping back to her original position when an attack had passed harmlessly by her. Stomping her foot down, Kagome used it as a pivot point, the other leg extended. Her foot smashed into Nianniai's jaw, causing the demoness to stumble and almost lose her balance.

" Can't you defeat me, a mere mortal?" Kagome asked, turning the tables on the demoness, taunting her instead of the other way around. She wasn't going to let her defence down and be run astray by words alone. " I thought that you were much more powerful, instead of being a weakling."

" So you think. I can beat you. I'm just waiting for the perfect moment," Nianniai replied in kind and picked up her sword. Amazing, she was already tired and the human miko in front of her was not even winded. In fact, she seemed to be in better shape than she was. But that seemed so unlikely. She trained for hours a week. How could Kagome be stronger and able to deflect her blows without being tired?

Dismissing the thoughts, the demoness attacked, this time slipping a special magic in with the sword swing.

" Claws of wind!" Nianniai shouted as she swung her sword, hurling the attack at the unsuspecting miko.

Kagome, realizing that the black demoness had slipped in a spell during the initial attack, tried to get out of the way, but she was caught in a whirlwind that swept her across the room. She tried to get up, but the strength had been sucked from her. She lay there, limp as a rag, watching as Nianniai walked up to her.

" See, I told you that I could beat you," Nianniai said as reached down and grabbed Kagome's throat, fingers digging into her oesophagus.

" No," Kagome whispered as her oxygen supply she held began to disappear. Bringing her sword up, she willed with every ounce of her strength that her power be directed at Nianniai and blow her to hell. She grimaced as the demoness's fingers sunk deeper into her throat as her power shoved Nianniai away from her. " I will not let you kill me, or harm those of mine who will come after me."

Sango ran up to the miko. The demon exterminator shook her friend as she approached the down demoness threateningly. But trying to keep the priestess back was like holding onto the back end of a bucking horse. Sango was always being pushed backwards by the power discharging from Kagome.

" Kagome, stop, please. Your child might be hurt from your power," The taijiya called out to her friend. Looking around, she hurriedly thought of another idea that could make her stop. " Kagome, look, you have to go see Inuyasha. I don't think he's doing all that good. You might be the only one too help him."

That caused Kagome to pause in mid stride. The miko turned around and, seeing the hanyou still down, went to him, the sword still in her hand as a precaution. Kneeling beside the one she loved, she cradled his head and stayed with him even when Nianniai got up and started another fight with Sango, Miroku and Kohaku. She took off the armour around his chest to let him breath without any type of restrictions. But when Nianniai appeared before her, she tried to swing the sword up and defend herself.

Nianniai's gaze hardened when she looked at Kagome. Grabbing the sword, she threw it point first to the ground a couple of feet away from them. Smiling, the demoness hardened the gaze even more.

Kagome gasped. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, or the rest of her body for that matter. Trying to fight the paralyzation that was overcoming her, she didn't notice when Inuyasha woke up and grabbed the sword in his clawed hands when he realized what was happening. But when she saw Inuyasha pop up behind Nianniai, she could only watch in fear.

Inuyasha placed the blade of the sword against Nianniai's neck, startling her and disrupting her powers. The hanyou spun the demoness around and threw her to the other side of the main room. He followed, feeling the gaze as it fell on him, but he still moved on. He was not affected anymore. He continued to the demoness and threw her across the room again. This time, when he reached her, he wasn't so gentle. He picked her up and slammed her into the wall repeatedly, causing the whole foundation to shudder.

Nianniai groaned from the pain. She knew a couple of ribs were cracked; her breathing was laboured, but she still got up to face the half demon. Taking her sword in her hand, she went to meet the hanyou. Even though it was a pain-blinding effort, she still managed to swing her sword at Inuyasha, surprised that he didn't see it coming when the blade bit deep into his shoulder.

Inuyasha cried out in pain. The sword had cut down to the bone, leaving the flesh hanging loose in a sickening way.

Koga looked up when he heard the hanyou cry out in pain. Taking a quick glance to see if the coast was clear, he saw Ayame heading to the main room of Nianniai's castle. Cursing under his breath about female wolves and their instinct to see who was in pain and their motherly instincts.

" I heard that Koga. Now shake your tail!" The wolf of the northern white wolf tribe shouted out.

Growling, he followed her, entering the large double doors of the room. What he saw there shocked him.

Inuyasha stood to one side of the large room, clutching his ruined shoulder. Kagome was down, not moving. The rest of the gang was busy fighting Nianniai to notice that either Koga or Ayame were there. Looking around, he saw some of his tribe down on the ground by the door, completely paralyzed.

" Stupid bakas," the wolf prince growled at no one in particular. Heading to the fray, he swung a fist at the demoness, avoiding a blow that was aimed right back at him. He threw punches at the demoness, giving as good as he got.

Ayame went to Kagome, The miko was struggling to get up, but the power of the paralyzation spell was just as strong as her own power. Grabbing the young raven-haired girl, she dragged her away from the battle. She even let Shippou climb on until she had stopped by a wall.

Shippou stayed with Kagome, protecting her from any type of harm that might come to her. Patting her hair, the kitsune kept his vigil. But he was scared. He tried to keep the others from seeing his fear.

" I'm just a little kit, why am I here?" He asked himself. " Wait, I'm here because Kagome needs me."

As if in answer, Kagome sat up with obvious difficulty. Gasping, she grabbed her side, where a cramp was starting to grow.

" Shippou, can you go get my arrows?" She asked between gasps of air, getting to her knees as the kitsune scurried away. She saw every one fighting at the other end of the room, and Inuyasha clutching his torn shoulder. That would leave an ugly scar when it finished healing.

Shippou grunted as he dragged the bow and arrows that Kagome had requested. They were heavy for him, being just a little boy and all. But he brought them to her as she was gaining her feet. Handing them up to her, he panted with exertion. It was hard and when it was done, he sat down with a thump.

" Thank you, Shippou," Kagome said as she took an arrow and notched it on her bow aiming for Nianniai. " Clear!"

Startled, everyone stepped back a couple of paces. The fighting stopped. Nianniai turned in a circle, trying to find out what the hell was going on. She never saw the arrow that Kagome shot at her. Screeching at the pain from the arrow, she bent at the waist, avoiding the second arrow that Kagome shot at her without knowing it.

Cursing, Kagome shot her third arrow. Revenge was all she wanted at the moment as she aimed the shaft at Nianniai's head. Releasing the arrow, the sacred energy enveloped it as it flew.

It struck with precision. The sharp end buried itself in the demoness head, killing her instantly. As Nianniai fell to the floor, a dark cloud appeared from behind her, floating like an avenging demon.

" Kaguya," Kagome said calmly, aiming another arrow at the black cloud." Are you here to die?"

Instead of answering, the cloud flew to Kagome, a shrill wind shrieking from the dark mass. But even the wind did nothing to deter the arrow that Kagome released from her bow. The purifying powers from the shaft completely destroyed the cloud, Kaguya's dark soul.

Inuyasha fell to his knees, the blood loss from his wound finally taking its toll on the hanyou. He knew that he hadn't died, but had come close to it a couple of times today. The fate that he had been deemed to live was destroyed. He was still alive. As he slipped back to unconsciousness, he heard and saw Kagome, her black hair flying as she ran to his side. She was worried for him. But as he slipped away, he felt her warmth envelop him.

Kagome hugged the hanyou, willing for her power to help the half demon recover from his wounds. Her power was draining, but she knew that she had to help him. Closing her eyes, she concentrated long and hard, sweat eventually breaking out on her forehead as time slowly passed.

' Heal, Inuyasha, heal. You're in safe hands with me.' Kagome thought as she felt her power flow, her hands starting to burn with the effort. Ignoring them, she continued, stubborn in her own right to help Inuyasha.

Finally the power became too much for her to handle. Collapsing, she fell beside the hanyou.

Shippou sighed. At least Inuyasha and Kagome would be all right, and so would their four-month child. He wondered what it would be like, having Rin and a new baby added to the group. He hoped that he wouldn't be covered in flowers or be stuck with babysitting a little pup of mixed heritage.

When the afternoon came around, Kagome was the first to wake up. Looking around, she saw a different scenery. They had been taken away from the castle while she was out cold. She only saw Kohaku cleaning his sickle. Then something struck her. Tonight was the new moon and Inuyasha was severely injured. Turning to him, she ripped off his bandages and took a good look at his shoulder.

The flesh was healing very slowly. The gash was not completely closed and it was still seeping blood. Torn muscle showed possible permanent damage as she examined him. It might be a good idea to have Kaede make a charm that would make him look human and bring him to her era to have doctors take a look at him and tell her if damage was all ready present.

Checking herself over, she noticed a couple of untreated cuts and scrapes, but they could wait. She wanted to go home and have an ultrasonic done to make sure the baby was all right and to confirm what gender it would be.

Kohaku noticed that Kagome was awake. He was shy around the miko, seeing as she knew that he was alive after Naraku had taken the jewel shard from his back. He was amazed when he saw her fight last night. She had a spirit that wasn't to be tampered with, even when she was on the best of moods. Her power was enormous.

" Kohaku, where's Kirara?" Kagome asked the boy, noticing that he was looking at her.

" She's with Sango and Miroku," The taijiya's little brother answered.

" Can you bet her here? Tonight is the new moon and I need to go home and have run some tests on Inuyasha," The miko said.

" I can try," Kohaku said and turned to the forest, heading down the path that the fire cat had taken with his sister and her husband, calling for them as he went.

Sango was busy gathering herbs when she heard her brother calling for her. Grabbing the basket, she headed to him, catching glimpses of him as he wove between the trees. When he was in calling distance, she shouted out to him.

" What is it, Kohaku?" The taijiya yelled.

" Kagome' s awake and she wants to head to her time because tonight is the new moon and she wants to run some 'tests' on Inuyasha," The boy said, panting from the run. " Where's Kirara?" He asked, looking around as he gasped for air.

" With Miroku. Come, lets go get her," Sango said and led the way to the monk, who had gone ahead to try and find other types of herbs.

As they approached his position, they heard him talking. As they entered a clearing, they saw the monk sitting with a raccoon-like demon.

" Hachi. Out of hiding, I see?" Sango asked the demon.

" Ah, Sango, nice to see you. Is this your younger brother?" The demon asked.

" Yes," Sango replied and turned to Miroku. " I'm bringing Kirara to Kagome. She wants to go to her time since tonight is the new moon."

" Go ahead," the monk said.

" She is beautiful," Hachi said when they were out of earshot.

" Now who's the hentai?" Miroku asked, hitting the demon on the head with a fist. " But you're lucky she didn't hear you. You'd probably be toast by now."

Inuyasha groaned. His body was alive with fiery pain. He felt so weak. What a strange feeling. This must be how humans feel when they're tired. He could hear people talking but couldn't make out what they were saying.

" Kaede, do you have a spell of some sorts for Inuyasha? I'm bringing him to my time so that I can have doctors look at him. No offence, you are a great healer, but I'm afraid that he might have some damage to his arm and I want to make sure that the baby is all right,"

Kagome said.

" Of course I have something for Inuyasha, child. Here, put this around his neck. It will hide his features during his stay in your time," The older woman said, handing the young miko a simple necklace with a small painted stone.

" Kagome, where is Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked when she came from her room.

" I'm sorry Rin, but I don't know. You'll have to ask Inuyasha that, but he's hurt pretty bad. I'm bringing him to my home so the healers can help him, okay?" Kagome told the little girl.

" Okay," Rin cheerfully said and skipped away, looking for the little fox demon that had come with the miko and injured half demon.

A couple of village men helped Kagome get the hanyou on Kirara, leaping back when the fire cat took to the air. When they arrived at the well, Kirara landed and placed Inuyasha beside it.

" Kirara, do you mind coming with me? I'll transport you to my time and bring you back when Inuyasha is out of the well on the other side, okay?" Kagome asked the cat demon, receiving a butt of the head on the arm as an answer.

Willing her power to extend to the fire cat, Kagome felt the tingle of time travel. Opening her eyes, she saw Kirara beside her. Looking up, she saw the roof of the shrine.

" Come on, Kirara," The miko said and started to climb out of the well.

Sota was by the Goshinboku when he saw his sister walk out of the well house, followed by a large cat. It was much taller than himself. Jii-chan grabbed a couple of old sutras and advanced on the fire cat, holding the sutras in front of him.

" Grand-pa, stop. Kirara won't hurt you. Besides, I need help with Inuyasha," Kagome said, stopping her grandfather from advancing any more and scaring Kirara and to prevent her from attacking. " Where's mom?"

As if in answer, Mrs. Higurashi walked out of the house and approached them cautiously. " Kagome, who's this?" She asked her daughter and noticed her state " Kami, your pregnant. Who's the father?"

" It's Inuyasha. Mom, I need his clothes. He's hurt and has been this way since last night. Oh, and this is Kirara. I have to bring her back across the well," Kagome said.

" She's beautiful. A fire cat, if I'm right," Mrs. Higurashi said and patted the cat demon between the ears before hurrying to get the clothes that her daughter had requested.

" Come, Kirara," Kagome said and brought the fire cat back to her own time. Climbing out of the well for the second time, she saw her mom bring Inuyasha's modern-day clothes out of the house and shoo every one away.

When Inuyasha's change had finished, they brought him to the car and put him in the back seat, Kagome climbing in with him and her mom driving. They were almost at the hospital when a policeman stopped them.

" Ma'am, what's your hurry?" he asked.

" My daughter's pregnant and her boyfriend is hurt. If you want to, take a look for yourself, officer," Mrs. Higurashi said and waited as the man opened the door and looked at Kagome and checked on Inuyasha's wound.

" Sit tight, ma'am. I'll radio in and let them know that they have a man who needs help,"

The police officer said and left for his car. When he returned, he bent at the waist to speak with Kagome's mother. " They know that you're coming. I'm to lead you and ask you some questions. I hope you understand."

" Of course," Mrs. Higurashi replied and turned to the two in back. " Honey, we're going to be there soon. How is he?"

" I don't know mama. He has a fever, but other than that, he's not showing signs of infection. Even my power won't help him," Kagome said, whispering the last sentence under her breath.

After arriving at the hospital, a doctor and a couple of nurses came out with a gurney. They brought Inuyasha inside to a private room to help him and check his wound over. Kagome was brought to another room where they would do the ultra sound. When they were done, a nurse showed the girl the results.

" You're going to have a little girl. Who's the father?" the nurse asked.

" My boyfriend, the one that came in with me," Kagome replied and stared at the picture of her child. If she looked really close, she could see little dog-ears like Inuyasha's. They were so tiny. Then she thought of something that she knew she had to tell Inuyasha, but she was worried about his reaction. Absently, she fingered a delicate necklace with a Celtic knot and two dragons, one on either side of it.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't in the feudal era any more. The room was white and smelled bad, very clean. He heard a rustle of clothes beside him and looked in that general direction. There was Kagome, frowning at some inner thought, her face screwed up to show that she was thinking.

" Oi, if you don't mind, I would like to know where the hell I am," the hanyou said, startling the girl beside him.

" Sorry, Inuyasha. You're in a hospital, where people come in and get healed from injuries," Kagome said and turned back to the window. " Listen, I have something to tell you but I don't know exactly how to tell you."

Inuyasha tried to sit up, but any pressure he applied to his arm shot pain through him down to his toes. " Itai," he grumbled.

" What if I told you that the woman you know as my mom, wasn't really my mom. She's my step mom," Kagome whispered. " And that my real mom was part of my secret. What would you say?"

" I'd want to know what the hell you're talking about," Inuyasha told her.

" What I really want to say is…is, Kami, I'm having trouble with this. Ohen jana, I found this out about a week before I went across the well for the first time. It shocked me, and I think that it'll shock you more than it did me," Kagome said.

Inuyasha's eyes went impossibly wide as he heard what Kagome said.

" My mother was a youkai. An inu youkai for that matter," Kagome told the hanyou.

" Impossible. I'd be able to tell if you were hanyou. Right?" Inuyasha almost yelled out.

" No. You see, before she died, she gave me her amulet that disguised her as a human instead of youkai. One like you have on now so no one would know your heritage,"

Kagome whispered, scared at what Inuyasha would think of her now that he knew her secret. " That's why you couldn't tell if I was a hanyou or not. Gomen, I couldn't tell you before because I was afraid of what you might think of me, if I showed you my true form. Sota, he's a normal human. My father had him with my step-mom when they met. You know something; he never told her what I was. This'll be a shock to her."

" What do you look like?" Inuyasha asked, wanting to know why she kept this a secret. He suspected it was more than she was afraid of what he would think of her, but couldn't place his finger on it.

" Before I show you, I must tell you something else. When you mingled our blood, I had to perform a ritual to get rid of your blood in me and mine in yours. I still carry the sign of being your mate, though," Kagome said and showed him the bite marks on her neck, hidden by her long, black hair.

As Kagome was about to take off her amulet, Mrs. Higurashi, Sota and Jii-chan walked in.

" Close the door, will you Sota. I have something to show you all," Kagome said and waited patiently while her younger stepbrother closed the door. " Mom, you know dad was hiding something from you, right? Well, this is what he was hiding from you all."

Taking off the amulet, every one in the room gasped as Kagome's true form was revealed to them.

Hanyou—half demon

Inu—dog

Kitsune—fox

Miko—priestess

Youkai—full demon

Baka—idiot

Kit—short for kitsune

Taijiya—demon exterminator

Hentai—pervert

Itai—ouch

Gomen—sorry

Ohen jana—damn it


	6. truth or dare:secrets revealed

Truth or Dare: Secrets Revealed 

Inuyasha stared at Kagome's long, black hair that sported bright electric blue streaks. Her ears had immediately appeared on top of her head; the fur covering them was as jet black as her hair. She also had claws that were a bit shorter than his and fangs that were just as long as his own.

Sota ran to his sister and gave her a good look over, tugging her hair to make sure it was real and testing her claws.

" Cool!" He exclaimed when he had finished his investigation.

" How did you keep this from us, Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi asked the person, no hanyou, she had thought of as her daughter for so long.

" My mom's amulet. She was full inu youkai, before she died that is," Kagome said and sadly watched as her only known human family walked out of the door to think about the change they had just seen.

Turning to Inuyasha, she looked him straight in the eyes and asked the one question that she really wanted the answer to.

" What do you think?" She demanded.

" For a hanyou miko, you haven't changed that much. You're still as beautiful as ever, Kagome," Inuyasha said and gathered her in his arms.

" When do you want to go back?" Kagome asked him, relieved that he still loved her.

" Whenever I can, and whenever you feel like it," Inuyasha replied as he nuzzled her neck.

" I wonder how the others will react," Kagome muttered and turned back to Inuyasha. " I don't have a night like you do. For me, it's the day, but instead of being human like you, I will be in a true inu youkai form."

" When is it?" Inuyasha asked, wanting to know when his love would have her demon day.

" The day of the new moon. Close to you, at least," Kagome said and closed her eyes.

Inuyasha was released from the hospital in a couple of days. He had healed completely and had most of the use of his arm, much to the surprise of the doctors. He was happy for that and couldn't wait to get to Kagome's house to get his normal clothes and head back to the feudal era. But he was worried. What if the others didn't accept Kagome's new look? Would they reject her? But, come to think of it, they didn't reject him, so that boosted his spirits.

Arriving, they immediately headed to her room and gathered some belongings that they knew they needed, including a couple of cases of ramen. Since they had left Kagome's huge yellow backpack at Kaede's village, they decided to bring it all by hand. Inuyasha, being stubborn as usual, wouldn't let Kagome carry anything heavy because of her condition.

" I'm a hanyou now, kono-i-yerro!" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha.

" Baka, you're pregnant and you are not doing any heavy lifting. That's it!" Inuyasha yelled back at her.

" Don't make me say it," Kagome warned him.

" Say it, I don't care, but if you say sit, you're coming down with me," Inuyasha told her and grabbed on to her waist.

" Damn it. Let me go!" Kagome screeched.

Even though his ears rang, Inuyasha held on tightly. He wouldn't let go. He was going to have the last word and he knew it would be final, but it all depended on how Kagome took it.

" Fine, you take most of it, I'll bring the gifts for everyone and my stuff," Kagome said, gesturing to a leather backpack. She tied on a headband around her head, so if she had to take off her amulet, the only thing she had to explain was the blue in her hair.

" Then hurry, I smell your friends coming," Inuyasha said, climbing out onto the windowsill.

" Mom, we're gone!" Kagome shouted down and jumped on Inuyasha's back with her pack in hand.

The hanyou leapt from the window and was beside the well house in a second. Leaping into the well, he felt the tingle of time travel and was jumping out when he felt his feet hit solid dirt. He ran fast to Kaede's village, grunting at each hello that he heard. When he finally reached Kaede's hut, he let Kagome off in time to avoid being bowled over by an over-excited kitsune.

Instead, Kagome fell on her butt, tickling the kitsune as a punishment. Laughing, they rolled around until Inuyasha picked them both up and set them on their feet. Even then, they continued to try and tickle each other.

" Why do these act like children?" Inuyasha asked himself under his breath and was immediately assaulted by both the kitsune and the miko.

Kagome found an extremely ticklish spot on the hanyou and attacked. She giggled like a madman as her fingers worked with precision on the half demon. She ducked under the swipes that the hanyou gave her, tickling him along with Shippou, who had found another spot underneath his feet.

Kaede, Miroku, Sango and Kohaku looked at them as if they were crazy. Their antics were strange. They watched as Inuyasha finally escaped and ran after Kagome and Shippou all around the village, eventually ending up in the river. There they began a water fight, soaking the half demon thoroughly before he could get anywhere near getting the two wet.

Inuyasha grabbed a bucket and filled it with water, whispering his plan to Shippou. He ran after Kagome, who in turn ran to the others. The half demon threw the bucket, getting every one in its radius wet.

" Inuyasha!" Sango yelled and ran after the half demon, who scampered away with hidden bursts of speed. Picking up the discarded bucket, she threw it at him, missing him by an inch.

After everyone had their fun and were sitting under the shade of a couple of trees, eating a snack that Kagome had gotten after their water fight from her era. Shippou sat licking an ice cream cone while everyone else had a Popsicle. They decided to play truth or dare, after Kagome had explained the rules to them all.

" Sounds like fun," Sango said, finishing her snack. " Lets play."

" Okay, so who goes first?" Miroku asked, before stuffing the remainder of his Popsicle in his mouth, shivering at the way it chilled his nerves.

" Brain freeze," Kagome said under her breath, so low that no one, not even Inuyasha heard her. " Eeto, how about we try it on you, Miroku?"

" Sure," The monk replied.

" So which on do you want?" Shippou asked, chewing the cone of his ice cream. " A truth or dare?"

" Lets start off with truth shall we?" Miroku told them.

" Okay. So how long have you been pinning for Sango?" Inuyasha asked, leaning on the tree behind him, arms folded across his chest.

" Well, since…since the first time I saw her," Miroku said, rubbing his head as if in embarrassment.

" Really?" Sango said and caught herself. " Who's next?"

" I'll go," Shippou said. " I want a dare."

" Show us your true fox form," Kohaku said.

Shippou nodded and closed his eyes. His entire body shimmered as the transformation took place. When it was done, everyone gasped at the sight.

Shippou's body was in the shape of a fox, but his colour was nowhere near their coloration. He was a bronze fur ball with pure emerald green eyes. With a puff of cloud, he was back to his well-known shape.

At that moment, Rin burst out of the trees, followed by one mad Jaken. The little girl ran straight to Inuyasha, arms outstretched as she cried out to him.

" Inuyasha," She screamed. When she sat beside him, she asked the question. " Where's Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Rin, I…I hate to tell you this, but," Inuyasha was having trouble. He knew that it would be hard on the girl, but he had to tell her so she wouldn't worry. " He's dead, Rin. He died because of me and he wanted Kagome and I to take care of you, no matter what happened."

" I understand," Rin said, head hanging.

" Rin, come here for a second, will you?" Kagome asked and when the little girl reached her side, she gathered her in her arms and took her away from the rest of the group. When she had gone a good distance, she put the girl down and knelt in front of her. " Can you keep a secret?"

Rin nodded, not trusting herself to talk just yet.

" Tonight, I want you to come with me. I want to show you something. But can you do me this one favour? Keep this secret until tonight?" Kagome asked the girl and when she received a small 'yes', she took off her headband and her amulet. " I found this out before I ever met you or Inuyasha or anyone here."

Rin stared at the black dog-ears and bright blue streaks that ran through the length of her hair. She knew that the miko was powerful, but a hanyou as well? It seemed impossible, but the woman in front of her proved it wrong. Reaching out with a tentative hand, she rubbed the silky fur on one ear.

Kagome let the girl rub her ear for a while before she put her amulet back on. She knew that the girl wouldn't be happy for a while since her protector had died defending his younger half brother, but at least she would have some condolences.

" Come, let's go back to the others. Hey, do you think that you'll make a good big sister?" Kagome asked the girl as they walked back to the others.

" I can sure try," Rin said, brightening up. " What do you wish it to be? A girl or a boy?"

" To tell you the truth, I know who it'll be. It's a girl, but keep that from the others, too, okay?" Kagome told the girl. " Oh, before we continue, will you enter my family and be my girl?"

" Yes," Rin responded and watched as Kagome created a little charm out of nothing and handed her a little bunch of colourful pebbles in the shape of a swirl on a single strand of stretched silver.

" This will let you know where you belong. Keep it under your shirt and if any one bothers you about us, come to me. I'll take care of it," Kagome said and grinned. " Get going or I'm going to get you!"

" Get meeee!" Rin screeched in joy and surprise as Kagome tickled her, running off to avoid her searching fingers.

Inuyasha cocked his ears when he heard Rin scream. He could hear the joy in her voice, not the fear when a demon would have attacked. He smiled, hiding the grin as he leapt up into the tree, exiting the conversation.

Shippou glanced up at Inuyasha, wondering what was wrong with the hanyou. He was hiding something. Even though he couldn't do anything to find out because he knew that Inuyasha would only keep it hidden, he really wanted to know what he was hiding. The kitsune decided to wait for the right time. Maybe he would come out on his own when the time was right.

Rin ran out from the undergrowth with Kagome hot on her heels. They were laughing maniacally as the energetic young girl ran away from the miko, who was trying to tickle her.

" Hey, I thought that you had given up on tickling others, Kagome," Inuyasha called down from the tree.

" Well, if you would stop running away from me, I wouldn't be stuck going after people like Rin, not that I really mind," Kagome yelled up to him. " I think she's cuter than you are, I'm afraid."

" Kagome, if you start that, I might as well do this," Inuyasha said and leapt from the tree, grabbing the miko as he went past her.

" I want to go to Kaede's. I'll walk over there while you go get your brother's body," Kagome told him, got out of his grasp and turned to Rin. " Rin, are you coming with me?"

" Yes Kagome," The girl said as she ran to Kagome and held on to her hand. They both headed to the village.

" See you all later," Inuyasha said as he took off, dashing between the trees as he headed to his brother's temporary grave, a blur of red and silver.

" Kagome, why are you going to Kaede's?" Rin asked, turning to her new mother, starting when Shippou ran up and jumped on Kagome's shoulder.

" Shippou, don't do that. Any way, I have to go see Kaede because she is going to help me develop my powers even more, that way I can heal people and protect them if any demons attack," Turning to the girl, Kagome smiled and placed Shippou on her shoulder. " I don't want any one getting hurt any more, so I'm going to be more powerful to prevent any more deaths."

Kaede sat outside her hut, sipping tea when Kagome, Rin and Shippou walked up.

" So, you're here to work an your powers, child. Come then, let's get to work," the old woman said. " Rin, Shippou, can you play out there? This needs extreme concentration."

" Okay, Kaede," They chorused and ran off to play with the other village children at the river's edge.

Entering the hut, the young miko closed the cloth door and sat down, cross-legged, in front of the elderly miko.

" So, Midoriko showed ye how to concentrate on your power when using weapons. I will show you how to control it so ye do not get so ye will not get so tired next time," Kaede said. " Close your eyes."

Kagome followed each direction with the utter most seriousness that left no doubt in Kaede's mind that the girl in front of her would be her predecessor.

" Think of a tendril of your power coming up from a pool. Reach for it," Came the first order.

" Once you've grabbed it, visualize something, anything that ye want to. Concentrate on it and think of what ye want to do with it. Heal it, destroy it, or put it together again, anything. Do ye understand?"

" Hai," Kagome said and suddenly a clay pot broke apart and put itself back together again, almost as if it had never broke. Opening her brown eyes, she took a good look at it." Wow."

" Ye have great power in ye, so I'll ask ye this question. Whenever I leave this world, I would like ye to take over my place and watch over these people. This is not a question where you'll think about it; I need and answer right now," Kaede said, shocking Kagome into silence.

" I think that, well, I'll accept," Kagome said after the shock had worn off.

" Is it too hard to ask why ye seem too distracted?" Kaede asked.

" I'm going to show everyone else something tonight, and I'll suppose I'll show you too. Inuyasha knows all ready; I showed it to him in my time," Kagome told the elderly miko. " It's a hell of a surprise, I'm afraid."

Inuyasha reached his brother's grave about late afternoon. He silently and quickly dug up the youkai lord, fighting back tears that threatened to overflow. Grabbing his brother's body and throwing the corpse over his shoulder, he headed back to Kaede's village in the darkening night. The smell from the body clogged his nose, but he tried to ignore it, keeping a hold on the Tetsusaiga in case some other youkai decided to attack him as he made his way back to the village.

Thankfully, no demons attacked him, as if they knew that it was him and Kagome who had fought Nianniai and come out alive. What was wrong with them, he didn't know, but he was glad that they left him alone.

As he reached the edge of the village, he left the body there as he went over to Kaede's hut. He entered, greeted by the roar of a fire and the rush of heat washing over him, a change from the cool night. He sat down beside Kagome, pulling her into his lap.

" Sesshoumaru's body is at the edge of the village. I'm going to dig a grave tomorrow and bury him," Inuyasha said. " Can you put a barrier around him so no other demons can reach him?"

" I've done it already," Kagome told him and placed a hand on his chest. " I think that it's time to show them."

" Show us what?" Sango asked, putting down her empty bowl.

" Before I do, promise me this. Don't freak out over it, please for me," Kagome said and slowly, almost hesitantly took off her amulet from around her neck, revealing the bright blue streaks in her hair, the fang, the claws, the amber eyes and the jet-black dog-ears on top of her head.

Everyone stared at her except for Inuyasha and Rin. Since they had seen this before, they gazed at the frozen masks of surprise on everyone else's features, smirking at their expressions. They pointed each of them out, doing their best to keep quiet.

" When?" Miroku managed to stutter out, his voice betraying his fear and amazement as he stared at the sight in front of him.

" My mom was a youkai, an inu youkai and my father was a human. I never knew my mom's name, or my dad's. I actually found this out on my own a couple of weeks before that centipede demon brought me across the well for the first time but there was a time before that," Kagome said. " My mom died when I was really young, so long ago that I can't exactly remember when, but before she passed away, she gave me her amulet that kept her true form hidden to the rest of society. If they ever found out about her, who knows what they would have done to her or me."

" Why did you want to keep it hidden from us?" Sango asked the girl she thought of as her sister.

" To find out more about you all. But most of all, I was scared for what you would think of my true secret," Kagome told them. " You see, there was a kid who saw me in my hanyou form and he ran off to tell his parents, who called the police. When they got to my house, they saw me and tried to capture me. Unfortunately, they had their guns out and one of them shot me. I was wounded, but my mom, took off her amulet and saved me. She told me that I was brave and that I could heal myself if I though about it hard enough. Turns out, I discovered my miko powers at that moment, but I forgot about it after."

" What's a gun?" Shippou asked her curiously, crawling sleepily into her lap, yawning as he did so.

" It's a weapon that shoots little bits of metal a very high speeds. It's quite deadly, trust me," Inuyasha replied, wincing inwardly at the pain when a bullet had lanced through his shoulder.

" I can try and get a picture of it whenever I go back to my time," Kagome said and absently rubbed her side where that bullet had hit her so long ago when she was young and her father had died in front of her. She shuddered at the horrible memory, the vivid and gory display playing through her mind again.

" Do you have a night like Inuyasha?" Sango asked, wanting to know if there was some kind of time when her sister would become demon or human, like the other hanyou that sat beside her.

" Well, yeah, in a sense. I have a day where I become a demon and in my true inu demon form," Kagome replied. " I felt weird one day, and it was the day of the new moon. I took off my amulet and saw my ears, claws and all that. I freaked out and I ran home, locked myself in my room. That was after my mom had died. My dad came up and told me the whole truth, which scared me even more. But as time went on, I realized that this could be for the best. Of course, shock erased that memory, the same way it erased the memory of my father dying in front of me and some one who looked like Inuyasha saving me. Maybe what they say about the past repeating itself is true, because he knew all about me and how I would be in the future."  
" How could some one like Inuyasha save you when he was sealed to the Goshinboku?" Kohaku asked. He knew the story well, and wanted know why that something like that had happened.

" I don't know really. What I do know is that the man was about to kill me when Inuyasha popped and stopped him," Kagome replied. " And please don't ask me how or what because I don't know."

Kaede was quiet during the whole answer-the-question session. She reflected on this, trying to figure out if this girl who was to be her successor was the one who came from Midoriko's line of ancestry and the line of a pure-blooded inu youkai pack. She would soon have to announce Kagome as her successor, and at the same time, reveal Kagome's true form. Perhaps she should do it tomorrow, when they were preparing to bury Sesshoumaru. But what would the village do? Would they be scared? Swearing an oath under her breath, she told herself that they would have to accept it, no matter what happened to her.

The next day, Inuyasha dug a hole where they would bury his brother. It was also the day when Kaede would announce that Kagome would be her successor. Idly, he wondered what they would think of her, but seeing as they trusted her whenever she helped them recover from a demon attack, there was a good probability that they would accept her as she was.

All ready, there had been a numerous amount of questions, mostly about Sesshoumaru's body. They had finally annoyed Inuyasha, growling that if they didn't shut up, he would do it for them. Luckily, no one had pushed the point and left him alone.

Rin stopped by and gazed sadly at her protector's body. He was the only one she had in the world before; now she would be living with Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou. She had developed feelings for them, family feelings.

When it was time for Sesshoumaru's burial, Kaede came out of her hut, followed by Kagome, both wearing traditional kimonos. The aging miko's was wearing deep blue, while the younger one was wearing a pink and white one. Kagome's long hair had been rolled up into a bun. She knew the part that she had to play; first take care of Sesshoumaru's body and then announce that she would be Kaede's successor. When that was done, she would tell the assembled crowd who she really was. Since they had not run Inuyasha out since she had appeared, she took that as a good sign and that calmed her nerves down a little bit.

" Sesshoumaru, half brother of the hanyou Inuyasha, the one who had sacrificed his life to save his little brother when Kagome was kidnapped from us. He lies here, waiting to be delivered back to Kami. We will not disappoint him," Kaede said and stepped back so Kagome could get a word in.

" The youkai who had sworn to destroy Inuyasha instead risked his life when Inuyasha would have been killed. For that I owe him my thanks," Kagome took a deep, shaking breath. " Please forgive him so he may be on his way."

All most as one, the villagers mumbled their forgiveness.

" Before you leave, I have some news for you all. Whenever I leave this world, my wishes are that Kagome will take over my position, and that ye will all accept her for her true form," Kaede said.

Now that got every one's attention. What did Kaede mean by "Her true form"? Was there something about the young miko that they didn't know about? Was she hiding some dangerous secret from them? They murmured with their neighbours, trying to figure out what it was.

" I had learned this last night. Kagome's father had been killed when she was young and a man who resembles Inuyasha saved her. Now if he hadn't saved her, she would never be here and Naraku would have taken this era over," Kaede said, pausing for effect. " She is a hanyou, from her mother's side. An inu hanyou"

The villagers were scared and spoke excitedly among themselves. But then they realized that after Inuyasha had the beads around his neck, they had ignored the half demon, knowing that he was there whenever he was.

" Kagome, take your amulet off," Kaede ordered.

Kagome followed the command, loosening her hair as she did so. She didn't want her ears to hurt.

Everyone gasped. Kagome suddenly had golden eyes, claws, fangs, black dog-ears and blue streaks in her hair. They watched as Kagome lifted her head and smelled the breeze, eyes glowing as she snarled lightly.

Inuyasha smelled the breeze at the same time, growling softly in his throat. He knew that smell from anywhere after battling him for a couple of years on and off.

It was Koga. At least Ayame was with him. Maybe it would go calmly.

The wolf prince entered the village and headed to the ceremony. He smelled a new hanyou in the vicinity, but he couldn't tell who it was. He glanced at Ayame. She was his mate now, bringing his tribe and hers together.

" Oi, mutt," Koga said.

" Koga, do ye have to interrupt a burial ceremony. If ye do not mind, I would suggest ye leave before it gets worse," Kaede said and turned away, unintentionally revealing Kagome in her true form.

Both wolves gasped. They never thought that Kagome was actually a hanyou. It came as a shock to them that shook their bones.

" I had originally pined an inu hanyou?" Koga asked himself, disbelief filling his voice as he stared at the hanyou miko in front of him.

Kagome grinned and started to laugh. Leaning on Inuyasha, she let her laughter roll of her lips as she watched Koga's expression. She felt the silver-haired hanyou's chest contract as he chuckled along with her.

" What's wrong Koga, afraid of little old me? Or are you afraid of what I really am?" She asked the wolf prince standing a couple of feet away from her. Then she froze, an unnatural smell coming from the forest. Inuyasha's forest. " Koga, you'd better get away from here. I can't protect you. I need to purify this area.'

Taking her advice, the two wolves ran for their lives, not wanting to be destroyed as Kagome purified the area.

The miko took a deep breath. She concentrated hard, trying to detect where the evil was coming from and from whom it was from. She finally detected it, about a couple hundreds of feet away from her position. Letting half of her breath out, she closed her eyes and felt her power flow out of her and purify what she wanted.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome's power flowed out of her with a pinkish purple wave. He winced at the thought that he might be purified, but as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still alive and that the wave was past him. He could feel Kagome's limp body leaning against him. She was unconscious, the power she had used to purify whatever was there tiring her out completely.

Smiling, he gathered her in his arms and walked back to Kaede's hut, where they would stay. The rest of the gang followed him. They formed a phalanx, protecting the hanyou miko in their midst. Surprisingly, the whole village followed them, creating a larger phalanx. They wanted to protect their future protector from harm, and she had shown today that she was very powerful, more so than Kikyo. They would accept her.

Kono-i-yerro—you bastard

Eeto—umm

Baka—idiot

Hanyou—half demon

Inu—dog

Youkai—full demon

Miko—priestess

Kitsune—fox

Sama—lord/lady

Hai—yes

Oi—hey


	7. The Day and Night of the New Moon

The Day and Night of the New Moon 

The time passed, and Kagome practiced her powers and steadily got stronger. She would sleep with Inuyasha at night and practiced new moves with her claws, the sword that Midoriko gave Inuyasha, her arrows and powers with him during the day.

One day, it was the day before the new moon, she decided to get the rest of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's things from their childhood home, even if the villagers had killed Inuyasha's mother. She wanted them to have the rest of their things that rightly belonged to them. That night she spoke with Inuyasha as they lay in bed.

" Inuyasha, do you want the things that belonged to your mother and father?" Kagome asked the hanyou, draping her arm on his chest.

" Hai, do you think that I wouldn't want the things that belonged to them that are rightly mine now?" Inuyasha replied. " But it is the villagers that live by my parent's castle that I am worried about. I mean, they know that I am a hanyou, but what about you? Tomorrow is the day of the new moon and you will be in your demon form and I will be a human that night."

" Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, and I will have full use of my miko powers during your human time so I can protect you," Kagome whispered, nibbling his jaw line, fangs grazing him almost seductively.

" Feh," Inuyasha whispered. " Tomorrow we'll go then."

The next morning, Kagome felt weird. It was the first time that she went through the day of the new moon without her amulet on. Walking outside she immediately went to the forest edge and knelt there, feeling quite sick to her stomach. Closing her eyes, she felt her organs shift and rearrange. When she opened them again she saw that she had changed. She was lying on the ground, on her belly and when she stood up, she saw that she was much taller, about the size of Kirara when she was transformed into her large, combat ready form.

Inuyasha woke up when he smelt a new, but seemingly familiar smell. Heading to the area where he smelt the odour, he wasn't all that surprised when he saw a large dog with black fur and bright blue streaks covering her entire body. His golden eyes gazed into hers and he smiled.

" Come on. You said that you wanted to go get my family's things and we're going today so I suggest that you get going," Inuyasha said and took off running to the west. His family had been the rulers of the west so he knew exactly where to go. If they continued at a constant speed without over exerting themselves, they would be there by mid afternoon.

Kagome took off beside him. She could get there much faster, so she woofed to him, speaking to him while in her new form.

" Get on," She said and wouldn't budge any further until he got on her.

Inuyasha understood, so her got on her back, holding on tight when she leapt forward. Her speed was incredible and he realized that they could be there by midday. She slowed when they reached a wide river, unsure where to go.

" Just keep going west, Kagome," Inuyasha said and once again grabbed on to her as she bunched her muscles up and leapt the river, which was quite wide. He never would have made it without getting wet first, and he knew that this might be happening more often than not.

They travelled for most of the morning, only stopping for a little drink of water by a fresh ground spring. It was a short rest, about five minutes before Kagome rose again and waited as Inuyasha climbed on her back, taking off once she felt that he had found comfortable spot.

Soon, they arrived at the edge of the village. They waited for a while so Kagome could catch her breath before entering. But it seems that the villagers had seen them because, as they made their way to the castle at the other end of the village, everyone peeked out of their homes, wide eyed in fear and amazement. They knew about Inuyasha, but not about Kagome. They didn't know who she was and they were afraid of her. The smell of fear hung in the air, like some kind of curtain, masking every other smell that could indicate a danger.

Inuyasha walked beside Kagome; a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He had given Midoriko's sword to Kagome, seeing as she needed to learn how to fight with it. He carried the weapon for her. He watched the huts, memories springing from the depths of his mind. The times when he played with Sesshoumaru because the village kids would beat him up, sleeping with his mother and father because the thunder of his first thunderstorm had scared him, weeping because his father was dead and his mother murdered in front of his young eyes, being chased away when they decided they would no longer tolerate him.

" Kagome, why can't I just kill them? They killed my mother without hesitation and she was a pure human, She begged for life so she could take care of me," Inuyasha said, letting a couple of tears slip free.

" I understand, but you can't. It would be as bad as letting your demon side out, and we both know how that will turn out," Kagome woofed at the hanyou. " Everyone would be out for your blood, and they would kill me and our child without hesitation as well. You and I know that."

They reached the gateway that led to the inside of the castle, encountering a bunch of heavily armed villagers who stood in their way, their stances aggressive, their faces impassive.

" Inuyasha, why have you returned here?" One of the villagers asked, his grey hair receding back.

" My brother has died and I plan to bring what now belongs to me home. I don't care if you want to try and stop me, but I will bring it all with me and my mate," Inuyasha said and let his hand drift away from the hilt of his sword. " I have been accepted into a village and I have changed. I don't see why you had to kill my mother when she begged for life."

" She spawned a half breed. They are despised here and they must die," The villager said, speaking to the hanyou without knowing that he could die right then and there if the subject he was talking decided to ignore him and attack.

" So, in other words, you would kill the new miko, Kagome? She is a hanyou as well. Would you kill her?" Inuyasha asked, countering them.

" The miko is a hanyou?" Another villager said, surprise and disbelief filling his voice, face changing from angry to incredulous.

" No matter, she is a hanyou and she must die," the first villager said, and they charged forward, weapons held ready.

Beside Inuyasha, Kagome bared her teeth at them, growling at them. They stopped, uncertainty filling them. They never asked who this inu demon was. But now that she growled at them when they said that Kagome had to die and just at their charge, they realized just who Inuyasha's companion was.

" She is the miko, Kagome. She has stopped Naraku and the demoness that threatened to control the entire world with her dead sister. Are you going to kill her now, or must we show what she can do?" Inuyasha asked the villagers in front of them, his hand finding it's grip around the Tetsusaiga once again.

" Let them pass," the first villager shouted out and the other villagers parted to let the two pass without incident.

Kagome growled continuously. She had an uneasy feeling about these people. She felt Inuyasha's clawed hand on her shoulder, but she kept the growl up. She was communicating her unease.

" I know. Something's changed. Everyone's different, as if they made a deal with the devil or something," Inuyasha whispered. He too felt the change in the air and in the people. Something had changed, and it wasn't for the best of the village, but probably for some demon.

The door closed behind them, enclosing them in the castle. Kagome's uneasy feeling grew as she went further into the castle. She whined, communicating her fear and her feeling of dread.

" Hai, I feel it too. But first we get the stuff and we get out of here," Inuyasha said and entered the castle.

It was huge inside the castle. First, they went to Inuyasha's old room from when he was young. The room was beautiful, filled with toys and fine clothes. It was funny that Inuyasha had gone from silk hakama's to his everyday fire rat cloak. Together, they sorted through the room, taking a few objects. Next they went to Sesshoumaru's room, where they gathered some objects that would please Rin. After they had gathered what they wanted, they went to the grand room, where Inutaisho and Izayoi, Inuyasha's parents, slept. There, they grabbed as many kimonos and hakamas as they could carry with them along with other fond childhood memorials.

Exiting the castle, they could clearly see a barrier around the castle and the wall surrounding the building had vanished, showing the whole village standing outside of the barrier, weapons in their hands.

" Kagome, now I understand why you felt so uneasy," Inuyasha told the miko hanyou beside him, watching as the crowd parted and revealed a sight that neither one had expected to see.

Kikyo strode forward, her bow and arrow in her hands. Her eyes radiated anger as she aimed the arrow at Kagome.

" I see that you have chosen my reincarnation over me, Inuyasha," Kikyo said, stretching the arrow on the bow.

" She isn't your reincarnation actually, Kikyo. She is Midoriko's. And you aren't part youkai," Inuyasha said, trying to restrain a growling, snarling Kagome who was eager to sink her teeth in the dead miko's clay flesh. " I chose her because she has been much more forward with me than you ever were when you were alive and I love her now, not you."

" Then you won't mind dying with her," Kikyo said and loosed the arrow. She watched as the shaft sped to the snarling Kagome and struck her with such force that she flew backwards.

Kagome howled in pain, screeching as the arrow struck her bone and stopped there beside her heart.

Shippou sat with Rin, playing with Kirara. He sat up straight when he heard a scream, noticing that Kirara did the same. He knew who had screamed and that worried him. Getting up, he grabbed Rin's hand and dragged her with him, following Kirara as they headed to the village to speak with Sango and Miroku.

" Sango, Miroku. Something's wrong. I heard a scream and so did Kirara. It was Kagome," The kitsune said.

" Are you sure?" Sango asked urgently, picking the kit up and cradling him.

" Hai. She was in pain, Sango. I could hear it in her voice. Something happened to her," Shippou replied.

" Kirara! Lets go," the taijiya said and hopped on once the fire cat had transformed to her true size. Miroku got on behind them.

" I want to go see Kagome," Rin said, crying silently.

Looking at Sango, Miroku nodded. " Come on," Miroku said, extending his arms to the child and brought her up on the fire cat demon.

They flew for a couple of minutes, waiting for Kirara to pick up Kagome's scent, or Inuyasha's. When the fire cat finally found them, they headed to the west, worry urging them onward at a faster pace that usually travelled at. They took about half of the afternoon, less time than it took Kagome to bring Inuyasha to his parent's castle. When they got there, they saw Inuyasha fending off the villagers and Kagome on the ground, a great deal of blood surrounding her body, but they were amazed to see her as a full demon.

The villagers cleared a circle around Kagome as Kirara landed, letting the humans off her, standing over Kagome's down form, protecting her from the villagers while Miroku went to work.

Sango kept other villagers away from her as she went to Inuyasha's side. He was tired and fighting the urge to kill these humans, the ones who had killed his mother and had allowed Kikyo to try and kill Kagome. Sango could see that he was holding out, wanting so badly to protect Kagome while she was down. She was sure that he knew that she could die and that he couldn't bring her to her time where the healers could heal her, at least until the day and night of the new moon was over and she changed back to her hanyou form.

" Kikyo, give her back her soul," Inuyasha cried out, his sword flashing out of it's sheath, the villagers backing away from the armed hanyou.

" Come to hell with me," Kikyo said.

" I am all ready expecting my first pup. Do you really expect me to leave now?" Inuyasha asked, circling the dead priestess.

" Yes," Came Kikyo's very simple answer.

" Die then," Inuyasha snarled at her and swung the Tetsusaiga, the windscar ripping its way to the priestess. She couldn't do anything but watch as the attack came closer and closer, eventually ripping into her and destroying her body.

The villagers halted, unsure of what to do. They had seen the priestess, who had come to them to get rid of Inuyasha for them, die in front of their eyes. They now watched as her soul exited the area where her body had been and head to the down hanyou miko, merging with her body.

" At least she'll be whole again," Sango said, laying a hand on the hanyou, who shook off the hand and went to Kagome. He cradled her head, whispering encouraging words to the hanyou miko.

Shippou and Rin ran up, tears dripping down their faces. They cried in fear of losing the hanyou miko who had claimed them as their own children to protect them from any type of danger.

Sango and Miroku kept their arms around each other's shoulder, ignoring the villagers who stared at the fox demon and the human child who knelt by the down hanyou miko, crying for her to wake up. Maybe, they realized, not all hanyou's were bastards, but some were caring and loved other species than their own.

Rin cried out for the loss of another friendly, adoptive family member. First it had been her own parents and then Sesshoumaru, her lord she had loved. Now Kagome would die in front of her and she couldn't do anything to help the hanyou miko she now considered as her own mother.

Shippou patted Rin's shoulder, crying silently beside her. He had Kagome as a surrogate mother since he first met her and Inuyasha when they went up against the Thunder brothers to get the jewel shard one of them possessed. He didn't want her to die, but what could he do at the moment.

The villagers gasped. They saw a woman in full battle gear appear before them and walk to the human child, the youkai and the two hanyous. She was beautiful, but each knew who she was before she spoke.

" Inuyasha, children, back away from her. This is something that she must conquer on her own," Midoriko said as she knelt by Kagome's head. She quietly waited until the three had left. " Child, wake up. You are needed to keep this era alive. Child, my daughter, I beg you to wake up."

Kagome stirred, her head lifting off the ground a couple of inches. She kept trying, her strength leaving her with each try, but she finally managed to get to her feet, unsteady as they were.

" Your daughter?" Kagome woofed at the dead warrior who had created the Shikon no Tama from her own soul.

" Yes. Your mother was a youkai miko, and a direct descendant from my line, a true blend of the two races. She wanted you to be as powerful as you could be. She knew what you would be when you were older," Midoriko said, patting the girl. " She loved you very much and wanted you to succeed. Ja ne, my daughter."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha, Rin and Shippou as Midoriko disappeared from view. She bowed her head, nuzzling the two children who ran up to her. When she looked up at Inuyasha, she tried her best to keep the tears that welled in her eyes hidden, but failed miserably. She took a second to look up at the sky, noticing that night was rapidly approaching.

Inuyasha smiled, feeling his change happening, but he felt quite strange as well. He fell to his knees, and saw Kagome run to him, her transformation to her hanyou form almost done. When she reached him, she felt her hands run over his body until she found what she was looking for. He felt the tug as something was drawn from his body and then he passed out.

" Kuso," Kagome whispered as she held the arrow she had drawn form Inuyasha's back. Kikyo had done what she wanted, but had failed by a slim margin. She had wanted to kill Kagome, and had nearly succeeded in that part, and she wanted Inuyasha to go to hell with her, but he had stopped it because of his love for Kagome and the child she was about to have. " Where's my medical kit?"

" We didn't bring it with us," Sango replied and watched as Kagome adjusted Inuyasha on her shoulders and a bag in one of her hands before taking off in a swirl of dust. " Rin, Shippou get on Kirara." The taijiya shouted to them as she ran over to the fire cat's side and got on.

Kirara flew as fast as she could, but was unable to catch up with Kagome, even if she was burdened down with Inuyasha's unconscious body.

Kaede sipped some tea as she watched the flames of the fire in front of her. The whole gang had left without telling her where they were going. She was surprised when Kagome ran in, Inuyasha draped across her shoulders.

" Child, what happened to ye?" Kaede asked, placing the cup down by the fire so it would stay warm.

" We went to Inuyasha's parents place and got some things that were rightfully his. The villagers had accepted Kikyo's help to destroy me and bring Inuyasha to hell with her," Kagome said and placed her mate in a corner, reluctantly backing away when Kaede approached with some herbs and bandages. " She is going to rest in peace for the rest of time."

" So, ye are whole again, are ye?" Kaede asked, wrapping the bandage around a human Inuyasha's body.

" Hai. Inuyasha demanded it from Kikyo," Kagome said, sitting down by the fire, trying to get some warmth into her cold body. " Stay alive, Inuyasha. Tomorrow, I must return to my time to get some things for myself, and some ramen for you."

When Sango, Miroku, Rin and Shippou, they saw that they couple were asleep, snuggled into each other.

Inuyasha woke up well after the sun had risen. He noticed that Kagome was right beside him. He fingered her hair and got up. He was hungry and thirsty, but he would wait for Kagome. He heard her last night when she said that she wanted to go to her era so he whispered in her ear.

" Kagome, time to get up if you want to go to your time," The hanyou said, ducking from a wildly waved arm as Kagome jumped up, completely awake.

" Kami, don't scare me like that Inuyasha," Kagome chided her mate as she got up, putting on her amulet as she instructed Inuyasha to do the same. Kagome cast a small spell on herself that hid her gravid condition. Together, they went to the well and jumped in it through time.

As they climbed out of the well, they startled Jii-chan and Sota. All they did was wave to them as they headed to the house.

" Mom, we're back, and I have some news for you!" Kagome yelled as she entered her house.

" Honey, what is it?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as she entered the kitchen, a basket of laundry in her hands.

" You might want to put that down before I tell you, Mom," Kagome said and waited patiently as her mother put down the basket by the table and sat down, some how knowing she should do so.

" All right Kagome, what is it?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

" Mom, I'm sure that you might know this, but I wanted to tell you in case you didn't know at all," Kagome said.

" And what exactly is that?" Came the question.

" I am Inuyasha's mate. Trust me when I say I am," Kagome said and shifted her hair so her mother could see the mark on her neck.

Mrs. Higurashi gasped. Her daughter, her adopted baby girl was a mate to a man, or hanyou that would make a fine husband

" When?" She asked, the shock causing her to stumble over her words. She could only stare. She was still staring when Jii-chan and Sota walked in. They took in the sight, hiding their smiles.

" A little over six months ago, after we defeated Naraku. And I wanted to show you the children I have adopted in the feudal era, but I forgot about them," Kagome said.

" Go get the. I have to talk to Inuyasha, and don't worry, nothing's going to happen to my son-in-law," Mrs. Higurashi said, and watched as the girl walked to the well house, jumped into the old well and disappeared across time. " Inuyasha, what will you be doing with her?"

" What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked the woman in front of him, fidgeting under her gaze.

" You took her as your mate, but if you stay here, you must marry her. That means buying her a ring and some clothes for you and her for your marriage," Mrs. Higurashi explained to the confused hanyou.

" Sure, I'll go through with it, if it'll make her happy," Inuyasha replied just as Kagome came through the door with Rin holding one of her hands and little Shippou on her shoulder.

" Mom, these are the children that I've adopted. This is Shippou, the orphan fox youkai I told you about before. And this is Rin. Inuyasha's older half brother, Sesshoumaru, wanted us to protect her when he died about two months ago," Kagome said, introducing each of the little ones to her family.

" Okay. I have a proposition to make. Kagome, Inuyasha and the children will stay here for a couple of days to a week. I have some stuff to do for both of you," Mrs. Higurashi said and turned to cook, noticing that it was almost noon. She smiled, planning out the wedding of her daughter and the hanyou she loved. Sure they were mates, but it was only right that they made it official.

That afternoon, Kagome took everyone shopping while Mrs. Higurashi took Inuyasha to a certain store, where they bought a wedding ring. Earlier, she had made the wedding arrangements, calling a local priest to perform the sermon for her daughter and her mate-to-be-husband.

Inuyasha fawned over the rings until he found the perfect one that he knew Kagome would love. The one he chose held a couple of small diamonds in the centre that surrounded by a medium sized sapphire. It was gold, but there was a small demon's tooth in it. He sighed. A demon child had lost a tooth and it had been put in the ring, probably to enforce its strength and protect it.

" You know, that is a perfect choice Inuyasha. Kagome will love it," Mrs. Higurashi said as she paid for it. They both left, the ring in a small bag, heading for another store where they would get a suit for Inuyasha, no matter how much he protested against this era's clothing statements.

When the evening came around, they had finished their shopping and waited for Kagome and the children at the car. They placed the bags in the trunk and drove off, sleep beckoning at them.

Inuyasha and Kagome sat in each other's embrace, breathing in each of their scents. Their amulets were off, revealing their true forms. Together, they watched Shippou and Rin sleep. Both children had been amazed by the era, wanting to check out everything and taste almost every single food that they saw.

" How was your day?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, turning her head so she could look into his eyes.

" It was all right. And yours?" The hanyou replied.

" The same, but way more tiring," Kagome said and sighed. " I just hope that our pup won't be so enthusiastic about this era as these two were."

" It would be fun that way, wouldn't it?" Inuyasha asked her, nuzzling her hair as she snuggled deeper into his shirt.

They watched the stars through Kagome's window, both lost in their own personal thoughts. Inuyasha wondering how he would propose to his mate, the way that her mother had explained it to him and tell her the news that they were getting married. Kagome thinking about what their child would be like and thinking about a name for the young one that was on her way.

Inuyasha turned to her, drinking in her beauty. He loved her and to him that was all that counted. Her eyes, gold as they were, reflected the moonlight, turning them into bright silver. Her hair stayed dark in the light, some type of trick that played on his eyes.

" Did you find anything interesting, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked his mate.

" No, not really. I spent all I had on the children, seeing as they found a lot of things that they wanted for themselves," Kagome replied, somehow knowing that he asked that question for no reason what so ever. She knew that he was hiding something, but she didn't know what it was exactly. " Inuyasha?"

" What?" The hanyou replied.

" What are you hiding from me?" Kagome asked, turning so she could see his face and see if he was lying.

Inuyasha pondered about that question. Should he ask her now and surprise her, or should he avoid the question? The first choice seemed better to do, but if he went with the second, he would be sat into oblivion and back again. Closing his eyes, he made up his choice.

" Wait here for a bit, will you?" Inuyasha said as he got up, leaving the room to get the ring and bring the rest of the family up.

When he got back, Kagome never knew or smelt her family outside her door. She stifled a cry when she saw Inuyasha get down on one knee, holding a little black box in his outstretched hand.

" Kagome, will you marry me?" Inuyasha asked his mate. He started when she launched herself into his arms, crying in happiness.

" Hai, I will," Kagome said, tears now streaming down her face.

Sota, Jii-chan and Mrs. Higurashi entered the room clapping, waking the kids up from their slumber. When they saw Inuyasha and Kagome hugging and kissing, they grinned at each other and ran to the two hanyous, joining in on the hug.

Hai—yes

Miko—priestess

Hanyou—half demon

Youkai—full demon

Kitsune—fox

Ja ne—bye

Kuso—shit, fuck, damn

Taijiya—demon exterminator

Kami—god

to remind every one, i still own nothing, except this idea for this story.

don't forget to review.


	8. Marriage

Marriage 

The day of the marriage between both inu hanyous approached fast. Inuyasha played with the children to keep them busy and not rushing into the house where the preparations were being taken care of. He knew if one of them ran in, he would be sat a couple of times for not watching out.

Inside, Kagome and her mother were fussing over which type of cake they would choose and what kind of dress Kagome would wear for the big event. Not long ago, they had decided on the type of theme that they would use for the wedding. They would use flowers of many colours and little pink orbs for the guest that would be placed at each of their spots for the dinner. Kagome had agreed for the pink orbs, saying that she would create them all for her wedding day. They would be magical, as would the atmosphere of the shrine area.

The phone rang, and Mrs. Higurashi went to pick it up, putting down a catalogue about marriage gowns.

" Hello," She spoke into the phone, listened for a second and handed it off to her daughter.

" Hi Kagome!" Three girls yelled into the phone at the other end of the line, causing Kagome to wince and hold the device well away from her ear as she was in her hanyou form.

" Hi guys. What's going on?" Kagome replied, rubbing at her ears.

" We wanted to see if you were still sick. You know we all get very worried about you with all of these sicknesses you get," Eri said.

" Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sick. The past couple of days, I've been planning my wedding with my boyfriend," Kagome said and instantly held the phone away from her ear, knowing full well that all three would screech like the damned in hell when it all sunk in.

She didn't have very long to wait. The screeching from the other end of the phone line probably could be heard around the world and could have woken the dead from their sleep.

" You're getting married!" Ayumi said, surprised. " To that hunk of yours? Gee, you're lucky."

" He's so hot! Wish I had met someone like that, even if I would get into fights with him most of the time like you two," Eri giggled across the line.

" When's the wedding?" Yuka asked. " Will we be in it?"

" Okay, one question at a time. Yes, it's Inuyasha. Two, the wedding is in a couple of days. And three, you guys, I've actually decided, will be the maidens of honour for me, if you don't mind."

" Okay, we'll let you go now. We've got a wedding to prepare for," Ayumi said and the line disconnected.

Placing the phone back in its cradle she sighed and leaned back, trying to relax. It was going to be quite a long wedding day now that her friends would be there for the whole day. After all, they would be giggling like crazy and she would have to wear her amulet to hide her hanyou form and cast a spell so they wouldn't notice her gravid condition, and so would Inuyasha. Then they probably would ask Inuyasha too many questions and confuse him half way to hell. At that moment, Shippou stuck his head in the open doorway, looking around.

" Kagome, I'm hungry," The kitsune told her as he ran to her and jumped on her lap, grinning like a maniac.

" Let's go find the others and see what I can scrounge up," Kagome said and got up from the couch, looking out the window as she did so, searching for her mate and the young human girl. " Where are Inuyasha and Rin?"

" They went for a walk a couple of minutes before I asked you about food," Shippou replied as he jumped on Kagome's shoulder, retracing Shippou's steps as she made her way to the back door.

She smelt the air as she exited her home, ears pressed against her head in fear. She smelt gunpowder, and it had just been fired, and hanyou blood. Inuyasha's blood.

" Kuso, kuso, kuso," Kagome muttered to herself as she took off, jumping on the tops of buildings to reach the area of the gunpowder and the exact area where she smelt the scent of her mate and the child she was to protect.

The place where she smelt the gunpowder was teaming with police and a couple of ambulances. Inside an ice cream shop, there was a criminal, obviously a robber, and he was holding a gun to Rin's head. The girl was terrified. She couldn't see Inuyasha, but she smelt his blood.

" Kagome, what's going on? I smell Inuyasha's blood here, and why is that man holding that thing to Rin's head?" Shippou asked, his fear penetrating Kagome's judging senses like a cloud.

" That, Shippou, is a gun, and if he fires it, Rin will be dead," Kagome explained to the kit.

" We've got to save her," Shippou cried out, causing a couple of heads to turn at the outburst.

The humans that were assembled down on the ground around the store glanced up and were amazed to see a pregnant human with dog-ears on the roof of the building in front of the main spectacle. Several news crews swung their rolling cameras to the top and filmed the strange appearance of this dog-eared person as reporters continued to do what they did best; report.

" Hush, Shippou," Kagome said as she stood up, concentrating on her bow and arrows. She grabbed them when they appeared before her and aimed one at the store window, the head of the man holding the gun to Rin's head filling her sight. Taking a deep breath, she expelled half and fired.

At that exact moment, the police fired their guns on her, causing her anger to soar to a point where she had no control over her demon blood as the bullets drilled into her upper body. She screeched in pain as the arrow she had shot killed the man. She couldn't control it and turned into her demon form, jumping down from the rooftop, snarling and growling all the way down and into the building where she grabbed Rin and an injured Inuyasha.

People scattered out of her way as she ran away from the scene, both of the people she loved on her back with Shippou clinging for life to her neck. They were amazed at the sight, but stayed out of her way as she charged down the street and into the mid morning traffic.

" What the hell is that?" Some one asked a policeman.

" That, I think, was an inu youkai in her true demon form. I didn't know if there were any of them that still existed today," The policeman answered the question that had been asked.

" Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" the first man said, incredulous.

" Hai, I know, but do you trust your eyes with what you see? If you do trust them, you saw the exact same thing as I did just then," The policeman answered the question before turning his attention back to controlling the agitated crowd.

Kagome panted as she ran. Her brain was filled with pain, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She was busy concentrating on avoiding cars and keeping both Rin and Inuyasha on her back. She was tiring and it showed in her movements, but she finally made it to the shrine, where she let the three off and concentrated on controlling her anger. Soon, she changed back to her hanyou miko form and collapsed by the Goshinboku, tired.

Rin ran to her, patting her head as she rested. She heard Shippou call out for Mrs. Higurashi to help with Inuyasha, but kept her attention on the pregnant girl in front of her. It was a wonder that she wasn't dead, or injured to the point where she couldn't move anymore, she thought as she gazed at the bullet wounds and furrows that ran along the girl's torso.

Sota stared at the blood that soaked Inuyasha's abdomen, where, his sister usually said that that was where most of his worst wounds came from during battles, but this wound was from a bullet, and he would heal in a little while from something so minor. He turned and wasn't surprised to see that his sister was hurt as well, but she seemed to be taking it a lot better. He had been watching T.V., flipping through the channels, but stopped when he saw that they were shooting live at an ice cream store where a bank robber had taken cover. Then the camera was swung to the top of another building when there was a small outcry of disbelief, where his sister crouched with Shippou on her shoulder. Her bow and arrows had suddenly appeared before her when she stood up and when she fired the shaft, the policemen on the ground fired their guns at her. She had cried out and changed into her true inu form, screaming and falling to the ground as she did so. She had gotten Inuyasha and Rin before they could shoot any more. The news reporter had asked a police officer a question, which was immediately answered with the fact that his sister was a youkai at that moment when she was injured.

Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes, taking in the sight of Rin's dark-haired head as she rested against her. She could feel her body healing the gun wounds, and her thoughts turned to Inuyasha. Craning her neck, she saw that he wasn't all that far from her. She could tell that he was healing fine, but she couldn't help but worry about him whenever he got hurt. She couldn't help it; it was her nature to worry about Inuyasha and the rest of the group whenever they got hurt. Sometimes she blamed herself, especially when she was the cause of the wound or around the person who got hurt. It was normal, she always told herself; it was survivor's guilt, as it was so adequately named. She felt it whenever she saw the others get hurt or she couldn't help when villagers were hurt and she couldn't do a thing about it for them.

Satisfied that she was all right and safe, Kagome got up and held Rin to her for a second, comforting the little girl before sending her on her way into the house, along with Shippou, Sota and Jii-chan. Leaning down by Inuyasha, she grabbed him in a fire man's carry and staggered to her room, where she applied antiseptic to the wound, glad to see that it was healing nicely. She settled down beside him, her hand around his middle as she fell asleep. They needed their rest before their big day arrived.

Kagome woke up on the day of her wedding full of energy. She felt as if a weight of considerable anxiety had been lifted from her shoulders. She lightly kissed Inuyasha and got up from his side. She silently went downstairs and grabbed some breakfast, heading out to the practice grounds with her bow and arrows. She had to pass the time away before her mother got up and separated her from Inuyasha, keeping the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride alive.

Mrs. Higurashi watched her daughter practice with her bow and arrows, amazed that she could aim so well. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and made no move to check them as they fell from her cheeks. Her baby girl was all grown up and about to have a child of her own, a child hanyou. The prospect of having a grand child of her own thrilled her, even if it was a half demon and half human child.

" Kagome," She called out to the girl.

Kagome turned around and walked over to the woman she thought of as her mother. The morning was passing by and she had to get ready for late afternoon, and her friends were coming soon. She quickly put on her amulet and went to her mother's room to prepare for her wedding. As soon as the door closed, she immediately changed into her wedding dress, hurrying to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As soon as she finished, she stuck her head out the door and when she saw that the coast was clear, she went to her mother's room again, where the woman waited. Applying make-up, the hanyou miko smiled to herself, as she thought about her future with her friends in the feudal era and her mate. She couldn't wait to start her life without the restrictions of this era. Sure, they would be legally married, but they wouldn't be living here.

Inuyasha woke up some time after Kagome had left his side. Today was the day they were married. Last night he had been told that he shouldn't try to see Kagome until the ceremony, which meant that he would spend most of the day alone, and as a human as he prepared. It wasn't all that hard. Kagome had explained it all to him the night before so he wouldn't be all confused when he had to dress himself in the morning. But then again, he would usually practice a couple of moves with the Tetsusaiga, but he decided against doing that this morning.

" Ohen jana," He muttered as he fell back on the bed as he tried to get the pants of his suit on him. He would never understand the clothes of this era, and preferred not to where them, but he would when necessary. The smell of Kagome's friends penetrated his senses and he hurriedly put on his amulet so they wouldn't know that he was a hanyou until he and Kagome agreed on revealing the truth to them. Still it was a hard secret to keep and he knew that Kagome now wished that she could just come out with the truth. He could hear Rin calling out to Mrs. Higurashi, telling her that Kagome's friends were here.

" Ba-chan, there are people here who claim to be Kagome's friends!" She called up the stairs, still slightly afraid of the wooden things.

" I'm coming. Rin, why don't you go see ka-chan?" Mrs. Higurashi said as she descended the stairs. She sighed as Rin shook her head.

" I'll come and get her," Inuyasha called down as he manipulated the stairs, picking Rin up as soon as she was in his arm's distance. He smiled with her, waiting as Mrs. Higurashi introduced her to each of Kagome's friends.

" Shippou's around here somewhere, but he is kind of shy of people he doesn't know that well," Inuyasha explained to the giggling girls as he made his way up the stairs, followed by the three girls and Kagome's mother. He handed the girl off to Mrs. Higurashi before going back to Kagome's room to finish getting the suit on him and then wait around while Kagome finished getting dressed. He would help with the preparations after he was done.

Down on the shrine grounds, Sota and a couple of his friends were hanging the flowers and little model replicas of the Shikon no Tama on the Goshinboku. One of his friends was teetering on the edge of a ladder and fell with a yelp. Sota stared. Inuyasha had just grabbed his friend from mid air as he was falling.

" Are you trying to be a swan?" He asked the kid, who squirmed out of the hanyou-in-disguise arms.

" No sir, just a little unstable," the kid replied.

" Have you seen Shippou around, Sota?" Inuyasha asked his mate's little brother.

" No, thought he was with you or Kagome. He'll probably show up for the ceremony though," Sota replied as he hung another bunch of flowers and a fake Shikon jewel on a low limb.

Inuyasha looked around him and noticed a little quivering form at the other end of the grounds. Smirking, he went over to it and stepped into the fauna that surrounded the shrine.

" Shippou, if you don't help or get ready, I don't think Kagome will be all that happy with you," The hanyou said. " I can't go see Kagome today until the ceremony, so you'll have to go up to her mother's room and ask for an amulet to hide your form from the others."

" Fine," Shippou said and left the cover of the bushes, taking on the form of a cat to minimize suspicion.

Inuyasha sighed and went over to the practice grounds. He had stashed Tetsusaiga there the night before, knowing full well that there was not a lot that he could do around here once he was ready, and had decided to practice new moves to protect Kagome and his pup in the feudal era. He didn't know how long it had been since he started practicing, but when he heard a twig crack under weight, he whirled around, the Tetsusaiga held in front of him.

Sota and his friends stood there, eyes open so wide that the eyes themselves could have fallen out. They were amazed that Inuyasha was such a skilled swordsman. Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha went back to his practicing, this time testing out new killing blows to a post.

" Inuyasha, it's almost time for the wedding," Sota said, trying to pry his eyes from the sight of the hanyou working out.

" Feh," Inuyasha said, placing Tetsusaiga in its sheath, placing his beloved and trust worthy sword in a secure place and heading out to the wedding area. He saw Kagome's friends standing around the door to the house and knew that Kagome was ready. He took his place at the alter and waited patiently as the music began and the flower girls walked up the aisle.

Kagome waited anxiously at the other end of the alter. She couldn't wait. She was finally getting married, even if she all ready was Inuyasha's mate, and had the marks on her neck to prove it.

Looking around at the Goshinboku, she sighed when she saw how beautiful it looked. Her idea of creating Shikon jewels and hanging them with little bunches of flowers from the limbs created a magical atmosphere.

All too soon, it was her turn to walk up the aisle. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and walked up the aisle, holding a bunch of flowers similar to the ones hanging from the god tree. She was so happy that this day had come. She had dreamed about it for a long time, stewing over her love for Inuyasha, trying to figure out how to tell him about her true feelings toward him. Now that she knew how Inuyasha felt about her, she couldn't help but give a big smile as she walked to her fellow hanyou, her love. Maybe now, they could live life in peace, without having to run around, chasing after the Shikon shards and trying to kill Naraku or anything else. Her life had just become less complicated now that he was dead and no longer a threat to her or one her friends.

When Inuyasha saw Kagome, the first thing that sprung to mind was the fact that she looked beautiful. The way that her hair swept across her shoulders in waves and the way her eyes sparkled happily made his heart leap in his chest. He couldn't wait until their pup was born, to see Kagome take care of the child as it grew. He dreaded the fact that she would take Kaede's place as head miko of the village when the older miko passed on, but it couldn't be helped. It was what they both wanted, so he settled with accepting the answer. Then he thought about her friends who had helped out. Had she told them about her true form, about being an inu hanyou? He hoped that she didn't, but then again, they weren't looking at her in sidelong glances. It relieved him that they didn't know about who she really was. He then thought about the history books that they read in school for history. They were reading about the feudal era, Kagome told him once, most likely about his little group fighting Naraku. He wondered vaguely if they had gotten to the part that revealed who the mysterious miko who travelled with them was. It sure as hell wasn't Kikyo, as most would say, seeing as Kagome looked like his old girlfriend. He was sure that it would come as a very big surprise. He suppressed a chuckle, but he would speak to Kagome about it later when they were alone.

His thoughts drifted even faster as Kagome slowly made her way to the alter. Would she know about his secret visits across the well? He had been busy making preparations in the village to have their own hut constructed. It would be his present to his love. They had just finished with Miroku and Sango's hut when he had arrived there for the first time. Sango had agreed and had whipped the villagers into a frenzy, promising that Inuyasha would pay them back by hunting down animals for food and their pelts for warmth.

Finally, she arrived and stood beside her mate. They smiled for a brief second before the priest started the ceremony. They were both smiling when the priest asked the vows, replying affirmatives when it was their turn. When they kissed, everyone applauded enthusiastically.

Then there came the food. Inuyasha didn't make a fool of himself as he ate, giving Kagome quick pecks on the cheeks, only kissing her on the lips when the crowd demanded it. Rin and Shippou, who was in a disguise, thanks to one of the charms that Kagome made for him, sat beside them, grinning as they ate and giggling when their adoptive parents kissed passionately in front of the crowd.

It was a long night. The two young ones that had taken Inuyasha and Kagome as their parents had fallen asleep at their table. Shippou still held onto a fork, stubbornly clinging to it, shifting in his sleep and letting a little bit of food still on the utensil to fall to the ground. Sighing, Kagome and Inuyasha wearily carried the two up to the hanyou miko's old room where they would sleep their last night in her era before returning across the well.

Ayumi, Eri and Yuka watched as the newly wed couple carried their adopted children into the house, not yet knowing about the true forms that lay beneath a concealing spell that hid the true forms of three that they knew. All they knew was that Kagome and Inuyasha, along with their adopted children would be happy for the rest of their lives. They never suspected anything when a shadow leapt across the moonlit area. They shrugged it off as a bird, not Kagome in her hanyou form as she headed to the highest point in the city.

Deep in the shadows, an evil watched as the three girls walked away from the Higurashi residence. It was almost time when it would attack, forcing Kagome and her mate to reveal their forms to the world. It smiled cruelly when it thought of the pain it would inflict on the two hanyous. Turning, it disappeared into the night, never leaving a trace of its existence.

Kagome could feel a danger close to her home as she entered the house with Rin in her arms. Cursing, she took off her amulet and handed Rin over to Inuyasha. Opening a window, she slipped out, leaping across the clearing where her friends stood. She was glad that Hojo hadn't come. She didn't think that she could handle him at her wedding, but she was sure that he would know about the event soon enough. She smiled to herself as she jumped from the top of each building she landed on. Her friends would have freaked if they had seen her in her true form in a wedding dress instead of it being hidden under her true mother's amulet.

As she reached a tall tower, she sniffed the air, knowing that there was an evil in her time. Tomorrow she would go back to the place she know considered as her home and talk with Inuyasha. She knew that one of the times in the future when she would come home, there would be an attack. She could sense it. Shrugging it off, she went back to her mother's place to rest for the remainder of the night.

The next morning, Rin woke up early. She saw that Inuyasha and Kagome were still asleep. Shaking Shippou awake, she whispered in his ear. Together, with mischievous glints in their eyes they tickle both hanyous, causing them to wake up shrieking in surprise.

The two hanyous retaliated, tickling the children before they stopped and went downstairs for some breakfast before they packed up and went across the well, back to the feudal era. Soon after, they were all ready; waiting while everyone said their good byes.

" I'll be back in a couple of months mom," Kagome called out as they all headed to the well house.

" All right dear. We'll be here for you when you return," Mrs. Higurashi called back, holding back the tears that threatened to overflow.

Across the well, Inuyasha and Kagome hoisted the bags of supplies and gifts onto their shoulders and started back to Kaede's village. Rin and Shippou played together as they walked. The day was bright and sunny with hardly any clouds in the sky. Soon they arrived at the village, meeting both Sango and Miroku on the way past Kaede's empty hut, seeing as she was at another village, helping them heal the sick. They made small, unimportant talk as they absently walked to two huts that sat on the outskirts of the village.

" So how was it back home Kagome?" Sango asked the hanyou miko, turning to face the girl she thought of has her sister.

" It was amazing. Inuyasha proposed to me and we made it official. He even went as far as buying this ring with my mother," Kagome replied, showing her wedding ring to the taijiya.

" It's beautiful," Sango said, nearly drooling over the piece of jewellery. The sapphire and diamonds grabbed at her attention, riveting her eyes to the ring.

" So, Kagome, are you expecting your child soon?" Miroku asked, trying his best to keep a straight face as his mind whirled with the thoughts of seeing her and the child as it came into the world of the living. He quickly tried to maintain his poker face, but some one must have noticed that it was slipping, because he suddenly received a fist to the back of the head.

" Oi, monk, get that idea out of your head. You are not going to be in the hut when Kagome gives birth to our pup," Inuyasha said, his fist still raised threateningly over the monk's head.

" Inuyasha, if he has those thoughts about seeing me give birth to our child, let them run through his head. But if he actually is in that hut where I will give birth, or ever thinks about that idea around me, I will personally hurt him, with Sango's help of course," Kagome said, flexing her claws and turning a cold, hard gaze on the man with the purple robes.

Miroku cringed under the gaze. He now knew that he had to curb his thoughts and probably work more on his poker face, especially around these two hanyous. He also knew that if he didn't, he would probably get hurt even more, Miroku thought as he rubbed the bump on his head.

Kagome lifted her head as the two newly constructed huts came into view. She sniffed the air and smelt the fresh scent of pine wood and tar to keep the hut almost water proof in the downpours, when the season came around, which was also in a couple of months, about the time when her child was due, and the winter season. She was tired of having the large stomach and leaning back to balance herself. She prayed that when her child was born, the evil that she had sensed in her era would not attack.

" Whose huts are these?" Kagome asked as she went over to inspect it. The work was exceptionally done and the raven-haired girl was tempted to congratulate the builders on their good work.

" Well, that one on the right is ours," Sango said, pointing at the hut. " And that one, well, ask Inuyasha."

" Inuyasha, what do you have to do with these huts?" Kagome asked, turning to face her mate, eyes questioning him as well.

" While you were preparing for the wedding, I came back across the well and I asked the villagers to build a hut for you and me, and our child. They agreed, only when Sango told them that I would help them through out the winter," Inuyasha said, hiding a blush as he answered his mate's question.

" Arigatou, Inuyasha," Kagome murmured, burying her hair in his silver hair. She smiled as she felt him relax under her touch and whispered to him, " I love you so much Inuyasha."

" I love you too, Kagome," Inuyasha murmured.

Inu—dog

Hanyou—half demon

Kitsune—fox

Kuso—shit, damn, fuck

Kit—short for kitsune

Hai—yes

Youkai—full demon

Miko—priestess

Ohen jana—damn it

Ba-chan—grandmother

Ka-chan—mother

Arigatou—thank you


	9. Kyashii and Kaliya

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 7: Kyashii and Kaliya

The nights were long and dark, and the winter rains were coming in faster and faster. Soon, it would be winter, the flakes of snow falling fast and thick to cover everything in its white blanket.

Kagome sat in her hut, alone for the time being, ears perked to the sounds of the muted daily life in the village. The rain was thick today, and it was hard to see even a few feet in front of one self, even for one of the two hanyous of the village. Inuyasha had left a few nights ago, heading west to the kingdom he now owned. He was due back sometime that tonight.

"Ka-chan? Why do you seem sad?" Rin asked as she came in from the rain, the water making her hair curl around her child's face.

"It's nothing. Come, I'm sure that Kaede would like a few flowers before they are frozen," Kagome said, watching as the girl's face lit up. She got up from her seat with difficulty. The young hanyou miko knew that her child was due soon, and when it came into the world, she would cast a spell so that it would appear normal to the mortals of her world when they crossed over together.

Together, both human child and half demon priestess collected quite a bouquet when they decided to stop at the hot spring caves for a while and wait to see if the rain would cut them some slack. While they were there, Rin decided to swim around for a bit, while Kagome stood watch, eyes and ears alert for any tell tale signs of a demon sneaking up on them.

An hour or so later, Kagome smelt her water break and gasped. As quickly as she could, she made her way to the edge of the hot spring where she told Rin to throw on her clothes and hurry to the village to collect some one to help her with the birthing. The girl did as she was told; hurriedly putting on her clothes and running out of the cave, back to the village, barefoot.

Kaede was out of the question. The old woman had arthritis and there was no one to get her to the cave. There was Miroku, but the monk was a hentai. But he was away, due to return sometime in the next few days. That left Rin to handle the birth of the child. She had delivered children before in her other village, before she was cast out for helping Sesshoumaru when he lost his arm during a fight with Inuyasha. Arriving at the hut, she set around and collected as many things as she could. A bowl that lay on the table was grabbed and put into a bag, including as many rags and blankets that she could find. Taking a few deep breaths, the girl ran out of the hut and in the general direction of the caves. The she ran into a solid, red something.

Stiffling a cry of fear and surprise, Rin looked up into Inuyasha's face. "Ka-chan's having her child!" she exclaimed and was promptly picked up by the half demon, who ran off, jumping over fallen trees and brooks. He made it to the cave without even breaking a sweat.

"About damn time you got here," Kagome hissed as a painful contraction took a hold of her. In the midst of her pain, she cried out, swearing out loud. "Kuso!"

Rin, as a child, heard enough swearing to know that this was Kagome's way to say that it hurt like the devil, as it was for every mother as they went through the pain of child birth. She prepared everything, laying out the rags and blankets beside her and filled the bowl up with water from the spring. Then she waited for the right time, watching Kagome's each and every reaction to the contractions that came faster and faster as time passed, listening to her cries as she swore in pain. She heard her adopted mother utter a word: "Osuwari" and cringed, expecting to hear a crash, but she remembered that the charmed necklace had been taken off of Inuyasha.

The white haired hanyou sat at the mouth of the cave, wincing deeply with each uttered curse and scream. The wince deepened as he heard the cursed word, "Osuwari", remembering the pain that he would get as he ate dirt each time he heard Kagome say that word. He had heard from others that child birth was painful, but the outcome worth it. He remembered when he was small, he sat outside his mother's room once as she gave birth to a small girl, but the child had died during the birth. Saddened by the events, his mother had looked after him with even more protection, afraid that she would lose her youngest son.

"Ka-chan, try to relax, please," Rin tried to calm down the hanyou miko as she tensed up for another contraction.

"You know, that's easy for you to say," Kagome said and gave an earsplitting shriek. "I feel it!"

A pungent odor came from the wet outside. Growling, Inuyasha got up from his spot on the floor and drew his Tetsusaiga from its sheath at his side. There were demons approaching, and they were there to tear into the flesh of a newborn. Silently, the hanyou watched as a bunch of scorpion demons made their way to the cave before he attacked them. "Adamant barrage!" he shouted, his father's sword turning into a rough diamond texture as he unleashed jagged diamond like splints at the demons. Within seconds the demons were gone, leaving behind smoking ruins.

Rin smiled as she held the first born. Efficiently wrapping the child with a small blanket, she set the baby aside and helped Kagome to deliver a second child. They were both girls. "Ka-chan, you have beautiful daughters," she said, holding the little girls out to her.

"They're perfect," Kagome whispered hoarsely, her voice gone from all the screaming that she had done. She uncovered both of her daughters and inspected them, her pain from the labor disappearing as she smiled at them.

The first one must have weighed about seven pounds. Her golden eyes were alert and bright, cooing when she saw Kagome's black and electric blue hair with her inu ears peaking over her head of hair. The second child weighed less, about a little less than six pounds. Surprisingly, her eyes were a light grey that were almost clear, but she also cooed when she saw her mother's face. Both children had hair; the oldest had black hair, while the youngest had the silvery white hair of her father, with ears matching their hair color.

Inuyasha came in from the rain after making a quick scout to make sure that there were no more demons around the place. Rain dripped from his ears and bangs, instinct making him take his time. He knew that if he approached too fast, Kagome's maternal instincts would go into overtime and she would attack him, and it was more than likely that she would flay him alive.

Kagome allowed Inuyasha to approach her. "What do you think that we should call them?" she asked.

"My mother wanted to call her third child Kaliya, but she died during birth. I think that it's just right that her memory lives on," Inuyasha said, golden eyes looking over his children adoringly.

"I agree," Kagome said, holding both children to her. "The first one will be called Kaliya, and the youngest will be called Kyashii. Come on; let's go introduce you to the village."

A few days after the birth, Kaede announced the birth of Kagome's children to the entire village. Miroku had returned from his travels in time to learn of everything that had happened over the days that he had been gone. He congratulated the two hanyous, accompanying them to the Bone Eater's well. There, Kagome cast a spell on the twins to hide their true appearances while Inuyasha put on his necklace, his hair turning black, eyes changing to a deep violet, claws and ears disappearing from view. He left the group to change into the clothes of Kagome's world, returning with the fire rat's clothing in a small bag that Kagome's mother had bought for him when they had last visited. Gently taking one of the sleeping bundles that Kagome held, Inuyasha stepped on the edge of the well, and, grasping each other's hand, the two hanyous jumped down the well of time, experiencing the soft lights and feelings of time travel.

Mrs. Higurashi was just settling down for a cup of tea when she heard jii-chan shout something unintelligible about Kagome. Rising from her seat, she went to the door and watched in amazement as Kagome gave the bundle that she was carrying to her grandfather when she noticed her mother standing at the doorway. "Ka-chan. I missed you a lot. Come, I want you to meet your grandchildren," Kagome said.

"Grandchildren? Oh my," Mrs. Higurashi gasped.

"Yes, grandchildren. The one that Inuyasha is carrying is the first one born, Kaliya, in memory of his still born younger sister. The one I gave to jii-chan is Kyashii," Kagome introduced her mother to her daughters.

"Dear, I almost forgot. Your friends are coming over today," Kagome's mother said, causing her daughter to sweat drop.

"Ne. When will they be here?" Kagome asked, only to have her question answered by the sudden screams of familiar voices. "Never mind, I got the answer."

"Kami, Kagome's back!" cried out Eri.

"Where has she been all of this time?" asked Ayume.

"Guys, I've only been away for a few months all ready. And, please, be quiet. I don't want to have two upset kids here," Kagome said, causing a hush between her friends when they noticed the two sleeping bundles.

"Kagome, you had kids?" Eri asked in a hushed tone.

"Duh, can't you tell?" another answered in an equally silent voice.

"I would like you to meet Kaliya and Kyashii. I had them a couple of days ago," Kagome partially lied, not wanting them to know that in terms of a half inu demon, they were a few weeks old. As they entered the house, a sudden dark feeling overcame the new mother.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, handing Kaliya to Mrs. Higurashi when he noticed his mate's state.

"I have a mush no shirase," Kagome said, bolting for the back door, brown eyes wildly searching for something as she jumped up to the first limb of the Goshinboku. The first limb was twenty feet above the ground, and the rest becoming thinner as she progressed. Stopping at the very top, she gazed around, trying to find out where the source of her distress was coming from, but she couldn't find it.

Sighing, she made her way back down the tree when an object in the corner of her vision made her turn that way. There, standing on a building not all too far away from the shrine, she watched as a man, or something, resembling Naraku step off of the building and disappear.

"Kami. Who was that?" Kagome gasped. Then she sensed Midoriko's presence nearby.

"Miko, I have come to tell you to watch out. Naraku's demonic spirit has grown stronger and will return for your soul," the dead priestess said, her voice echoing all around the hanyou miko.

Jumping down from the Goshinboku, Kagome hid her emotions about the outcome of the events. She went inside, brushing aside the comments of worry, explaining that she needed some air.

Inuyasha knew better. He needed to know, but refrained from asking his mate about it until they were alone. At the moment, he wished that they had brought Rin and Shippou with them. He wanted to know if they were all right, but when he thought about it, he knew that the feudal era was the best possible place for the two adopted children to be for the time being.

After Kagome's friends had left, Inuyasha sat on the roof of the house, waiting for Kagome to bed the twins and join him up there. When she reached his side about fifteen minutes later, he asked her straight out. "What's the matter? I know that you didn't just need air back then," he stated.

"I'm sorry, but I felt a youkai, or something like it. When I climbed the Goshinboku, I saw something that resembled Naraku. Then Midoriko appeared and told me about Naraku's spirit gaining strength and that he would try to take my soul," Kagome whispered.

"He won't take it. I'll make sure of it," Inuyasha told her softly, an arm encircling his mate's waist.

"Arigatou," Kagome whispered to him, kissing him soundly, her clawed hand running through his silky hair and dozed off, her head cradled by her mate's powerful body.

Later, around midnight, they woke up to a scream. Jumping back into her room, Kagome went to check on the twins while Inuyasha checked out the rest of the property, Tetsusaiga out of its sheath. When he found nothing, he made his way to the house, pausing when he heard a slight whisper of movement behind him. Turning around, he saw nothing and shrugged it off.

Kagome sighed in relief. Her babies were all right. She held them close to her as they whimpered in fear. They had sensed something, just like the two full grown hanyous had. She started in fear when she heard Inuyasha come into the room, but relaxed when she sensed nothing wrong with him.

"Nothing?" Kagome asked.

"Not even a bird chirping," Inuyasha answered. "It's strange though. I mean usually, there are the sounds of nature at night, but there wasn't even a peep out there."

"There's got to be something out there, then," Kagome concluded.

"Hai. I agree with you," Inuyasha said.

"Tomorrow, then, I'll perform a spell to see what's wrong," Kagome promised and put her children back to bed, hoping that the morning would bring a sense of peace and tranquility, instead of fear. She sighed. If only that her life wasn't as complicated as it was right now. These were the times that she wished for a normal life, but knew that she would miss the life of excitement like this.

When morning came around, Kagome made her way to the Goshinboku, a small, slim package held in her hand. Kneeling by the ancient tree, she unwrapped the package, revealing a small, ornate, copper dagger. The ceremonial dagger was used for generations, given to her by Kaede not too long after she had started her serious training of her miko powers.

Knowing that she wouldn't be disturbed, she called upon Kami, and the four elements to guide her during her spell casting. "I call for the elements to appear to me. Protect what is mine, those that I love, while I fight what evil may come. I will stay strong and not worry about my loved ones as long as the elements do their job," she said, drawing a star on a palm with the dagger and pressing it on the tree. The blood stayed there in the shape of the star, and then it disappeared. The spell had been accepted by the powers above. She knew that the fight between Naraku's spirit and the two hanyous would come soon, and when it did, she would have to reveal her true form to every one around her.

Getting up, she made her way back to the house and got busy making breakfast for her family. She, on the other hand had a craving for some fresh meat, but decided to try and ignore the craving. She would have her meat after they had defeated Naraku's spirit once and for all. Once the entire breakfast was made, and a few strips of uncooked bacon swallowed, she exited the house and followed a familiar scent.

"Hello Shippou," she said, startling the full grown fox demon as he walked around the property.

"Kagome, I've almost forgotten how good you looked when you were younger," the fox youkai said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find out where and when Naraku's spirit will come and try to take my soul," Kagome replied. "Are there any other demons that you know who are still around the area?"

"Yeah. I can gather them up and ask them to help you, seeing as you are the only hanyou miko in the entire world. How would Inuyasha react if they all came here and you asked them?" Shippou asked.

"I think that he wouldn't mind all that much," Kagome replied.

"Great. I'll get to work on that right away," Shippou said and left.

Sitting by the well house, she wondered how she was going to defeat a spirit, a powerful one like Naraku's. How would it be possible? Or would every one die and they would leave Kaliya and Kyashii alone in the world, without their parents to tell them about their powers and who they were. Steeling her resolve, Kagome swore to herself that she would not give in that easily and allow her children to live their lives without their parents.

When Shippou returned with the demons he had promised to bring so they could listen to Kagome, Inuyasha was practicing sword fighting with Kagome, who still wielded Midoriko's sword. The twins lay nearby, cooing and fussing over each other, watching their parents practice.

"What do you know, the runt's here," Inuyasha said, sheathing the Tetsusaiga in a fluid motion.

"You can't call me a runt any more, Inuyasha. I'm full grown, and I'm here to offer my help to help you beat Naraku once and for all," Shippou retorted. "I've talked to Kagome earlier, and she's agreed to talk to these youkai I've brought. They want to hear what she has to say about Naraku's reappearance."

"Thank you, Shippou," Kagome said, and then she raised her voice so all the demons could hear her. "I hope you all know who Naraku is. We, Inuyasha, myself, Shippou, a cat youkai and a few humans defeated Naraku before, and we aim to do so again. What I would like to know is if you will help us defeat him."

A figure walked forward, her long, dark streaked blonde hair swirling behind her, red eyes alert as she spoke. "I will help you both, Kagome," she said.

"Kilala?" Kagome gasped when she realized who it was who had stepped forward. "Oh, Kami. You look good in your human form."

"Arigatou, miko," Kilala said and backed away.

A sharp wind cut through the shrine's clearing, bringing with it a shuddering feeling. Without knowing it, Kagome had scooped up her children and brought them inside the house, telling her mother that she would be gone for a while, and that she couldn't bring the kids with her. Then she was outside, leading the way down the street to where the feeling was coming from.

Today was the day when they would face Naraku once and for all, and hopefully, defeat him for good.

Hanyou—half demon

Ka-chan—mother

Miko—priestess

Kuso—fuck

Osuwari—sit

Jii-cahn—grandfather

Ne—okay

Inu—dog

Mush no shirase—bad feeling

Kami—god

Youkai—demon

Arigatou—thank you

Hai—yes


	10. Naraku's Final Defeat

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 10: Naraku's final defeat

The mixed group of youkai made their way down the streets of Tokyo, eyes watching as the citizens of the city got out of their way in a hurry as they realized that this gang was out to a war. Little did they know that their home would become the battleground of a lifetime.

"I want some of you acting as a rear guard to make sure that the mortals do not get harmed in the process," Kagome ordered her troops, making sure that one or two of them stayed behind the group and acted as a rear guard.

Far down the street, Eri watched as Kagome made her way to the largest park in the city. It looked like her friend, but somehow, she seemed different than she remembered, and the last time she had seen the girl was yesterday afternoon. The ears on top of her head would probably explain one thing though, including the bright electric blue streaks in her hair.

"Kami, that can't be Kagome, can it?" she asked herself, keeping a close eye on the girl who appeared to be different, yet the same to the one she knew. She followed them far behind, not wanting to get caught.

Gazing around her, Kagome decide on the best way on how to evacuate the park, filled with many innocent mortals as they talked and played. Sighing, she settled on changing to her youkai form, and headed to a secluded area of the park, watching as Kilala did the same thing and as the youkai hid in the trees and bushes of the park, well away from the prying eyes of the humans. When the two emerged from hiding, they pretended as if they were fighting ferociously. People scattered in fear, avoiding the battle ground.

"It's clear!" Inuyasha called out from his hiding spot in the trees and jumped out from the foliage.

Immediately, all the youkai emerged from hiding and joined Kagome and Kilala in the middle of the park. They stood together, watching as a purple mist gathered before them, swirling around in circles.

Kagome, having enough of this melodrama, transformed to her hanyou state and drew her bow and arrows, knocking the feathered shaft and aimed it at the center of the mist. "Naraku!" she shouted, glad when she received a response from the mist, eyeing it as it took a familiar shape. Closing her eyes, the hanyou miko called upon her ancestor, Midoriko, to help her fight Naraku and to return safely to her children. Kagome could feel as Midoriko joined her presence with her, feeling the pure, untainted power that surged inside of her soul.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome merged with her dead ancestor. He unconsciously gripped the Tetsusaiga tightly; glad to feel the rough fibers of the hilt in his hand. He felt more than ready to take on a dead foe, and destroy him for good so he wouldn't have to worry about him trying to take Kagome's soul.

Shippou looked sharply at Inuyasha when he heard the hanyou growl at the sight of Naraku. The fox demon understood what the half dog demon was feeling at that moment. He hated having to face off an opponent that they had faced over five hundred years ago or almost a year ago for the two hanyous.

"Your soul," Naraku hissed, a hand extended as if waiting to receive the prize that he had waited for so long.

"Never," Kagome growled back at him, loosing her arrow at his center mass, releasing some of her power with it.

The arrow never struck its target. Amazed the youkai watched as Naraku disappeared and appeared some where else, this time with Eri held by the throat. He grinned when he noticed Kagome's angered expression when she realized that he held one of her friends from this era.

"Let her go, Naraku, unharmed, and maybe, just maybe, you can have my soul, if you fight fair and square for it," Kagome told him, eyes hard and determined. She shook her head when Inuyasha started to protest about her course of action. "No. Eri is one of my friends from this time, and I will not let her die by the hand of a dead half demon who will die again, so soon after we last defeated him, even if it was longer for the others and not us."

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered and backed down, never letting his hand stray from the hilt of his Tetsusaiga.

Nodding in understanding, every youkai backed away, forming a ring around the two fighters. There would be no one allowed in or out of the circle as long as both were still standing and breathing. There would be no mercy for Naraku should he lose or should he win.

Eri scrambled away from the scary man, taking shelter by a large tree, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene of her best friend fighting that fiend. Silently, she hoped that Kagome would win so she could keep her soul, whatever she meant by that cryptic sentence.

Kagome discarded her bow and arrows and drew Midoriko's sword from its sheath on her waist. She felt so comfortable with the weapon in her hand, almost as if it was apart of her. Taking up a defensive stance, she allowed Naraku to start the battle, ready to slice through the tentacles that he might launch at her, or whatever he threw at her. She was determined not to lose this fight.

Kilala kept her gaze on the girl that Naraku had held captive for such a short while. She could smell the fear off of her as it came off of her in waves. "I know that you are worried for your friend, as am I, but believe me when I say that she is hard to best. She is my friend as well, and I know that she will win this match," the cat demon said, laying a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"That's good to know," Eri replied.

Dodging the first blow that Naraku threw at her, Kagome moved in to attack her opponent. It would be a close fight, with a very close outcome. Swinging her sword, she scored a hit on one of Naraku's tentacles that swung her way. She wasn't fast enough to dodge another one of them as it ripped through her leg, sending blood flying every where. Snarling at the sudden pain, she attacked with renewed vigor, sending her miko powers into the sword. She would purify him and destroy him. A sudden sound high above them stopped the fight momentarily.

A news chopper circled the park, filming the event for the news channel. The powerful engine of the aircraft sent downdrafts down onto the field of battle, whipping around clothes and hair alike.

"Below me is an incredible sight. As you can see, actual youkai are battling. I really don't know what they are fighting about, but everyone who had been in the park a little earlier are being held back by a line of police officers, who are trying to keep them away from the circle of youkai," he babbled on, mostly about the two combatants, and, soon enough the fight went on, every pair of eyes fixated on the battle that was unfolding before them.

Kagome sliced through hundreds of tentacles, trying to cut Naraku's head off. Many cuts showed through her clothes, a few of them bleeding heavily, staining her clothes. She let loose one wild yell, swinging her sword in a circle, and using the same technique that she had used against Nianniai, she danced, her sword leading as she speared directly to Naraku, intending to cut off his head

Naraku's eyes opened wide. The hanyou miko's sword was heading straight for him, and he wouldn't be able to avoid it. He felt a slight sting on his neck, and everything went black.

Kagome stood in the middle of the circle, chest heaving as she watched Naraku disintegrate into nothing. She felt so tired; all she wanted to do was sleep for a week. Midoriko's sword slipping from her grasp, she vaguely heard Inuyasha call out to her, the voices that belonged to Eri and Kilala just a mere murmur in the distance. She wasn't even aware of her mate's strong arms picking her up and carrying her all the way to the shrine.

Midmorning came, and Kagome woke up to the sound of bird's singing and her children laughing outside. Sighing, she got out of her warm bed and slowly made her way down the stairs. As she opened the fridge door in the kitchen, a sudden sound behind made her whip her head around. Eri stood in the doorway, a small amount of fear in her eyes.

"Eri," Kagome said.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am a hanyou miko, the reincarnate of the ancient priestess Midoriko, the creator of the Shikon no Tama. I wish that I could have told you before, it's just that I was truly afraid of what others would think of me," Kagome replied, eyes downcast. "Inuyasha and my children are half dog demons as well. My mother, my real mother, was an inu youkai, and my real father was a human. I was able to stay in a human image because of my mother's pendant that is charmed to hide a youkai or a hanyou of their true form to others."

"Sugoi," Eri whispered, allowing the information to sink in.

"Eri, please don't tell anyone about me, or Inuyasha or about our children. This can't be known to the public," Kagome pleaded with her friend, hoping to get a positive answer out of the girl.

"I won't, Kagome. Don't worry," Eri promised.

"Domo arigatou gozaimasu," Kagome said, smiling. "Gomensai for not telling you in the first place about who I really am."

"It's okay. I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes," Eri replied. "Come on outside. I think that your kids would like to see their ka-chan so they know that she is alive."

"True," Kagome agreed. Heading outside with a chocolate granola bar in her hand, she watched as her little brother played with Kyashii while Kaliya was fed by Mrs. Higurashi. Nearby, Inuyasha was fending jii-chan away as he tried to plaster old sutras on him again. "This is as ordinary as it gets around here with Inuyasha running around."

"I can see that this doesn't seem to be out of place," Eri giggled, watching as Inuyasha finally got away from the old man by jumping on one of the branches of the Goshinboku, sticking his tongue out like an adolescent.

"Inuyasha, don't make me come up there and kick your ass off that limb!" Kagome growled, picking up Kyashii as she started to fuss.

Grumbling under his breath, Inuyasha jumped down, only to be pursued by jii-chan again. "Why in hell do you let him torture me like this?" he called out.

"You and I know that those sutras can't hurt a fly, unlike Miroku's. Don't make me bring you across the well and get him to plaster one or two of them on you," Kagome threatened.

Turning to go back in the house to put Kyashii to bed, she smelt Hojo's scent. "Shimatta," she swore, turning around and heading for the main entrance to the shrine where she waited patiently for Hojo to show up.

"Kagome, where have you been?" the boy asked. "Is that your child?"

"I've been here and there, and yes, this is my child; the other one is with my husband and my ka-chan," Kagome said smoothly, breaking the ice with all the grace of an inu hanyou would.

"Nani?" Hojo cried out in disbelief, startling Kyashii. He was so upset about the sudden turn of events that he never noticed the dog ears on her head or the bright electric blue streaks in her hair. Anger quickly replaced the disbelief, and for a moment she thought that he would attack her right then and there, despite the fact that she held a child in her arms.

She growled at him, baring her fangs. Her sudden change of mood somehow calmed Kyashii, who cooed at the prospect of a fight. "You dare to even think about hurting me or mine, I will skin you alive, tear you limb from limb, castrate you and finally kill you. I will do all of that over the period of many days, causing you much pain," she hissed at him, eyes alight with fury.

Surprised at her sudden change of mood, Hojo backed down out of fear. Never had he seen this girl so violent before. Then it suddenly hit him. "You. You were one of the youkai battling the other night," he stuttered.

"Correction, I am a hanyou, and I would not hesitate to protect my family," Kagome growled at him, staring hungrily as she thought of eating fresh flesh, her youkai side of her battling to get out and gorge itself on a prospect of a feast. "Get out of my sight."

As Hojo scrambled away in evident panic, Eri smirked. "You know, ever since the last time he saw you, he became suddenly determined to have you as his bride. He became so intolerable. I'm glad that you showed him who is boss," she said, her smile getting even wider.

"I'm glad how I did it too," Kagome smiled, trudging back up the stairs to take Kyashii to bed. "Very glad indeed, right my little warrior?"

She told Inuyasha about the incident after putting both of her children to sleep, only to have to end up trying to keep him from killing Hojo right then. She threatened him extensively, and he soon backed down, not wanting to have the wrath of a female inu hanyou especially when she was his mate. That would be a hundred times worse than a strange half dog demon.

That night, Kagome stayed up late, trying to quell the pain and fear of having to deal with her friends the next day. Eri would be there to offer support when she broke the news to the others, and she knew that she would need it. The fact that the world had watched her fighting Naraku on television was hard, causing her great fear for her future, but telling her friends that she was the winner would be even harder on her conscious, and them. How would they react to her when they found out? Would they reveal her to the world, have her captured like some wild animal and drugged and tested on for the rest of her life? Would she be hunted down like a beast that had posed too much of a threat to humanity? Asking herself these questions, Kagome fell asleep, worry blossoming deep in her heart.

Noon arrived, and Kagome's friends showed up at the door, led by Eri. Kagome let them in, her mother's amulet around her neck so that they wouldn't know about it right away. She watched closely as they settled in the living room before making her announcement.

"Guys, I want to talk to you about the battle of the youkai a couple of nights back," Kagome started.

"We know about it Kagome. They interrupted my favorite show so they could tell the world," Ayumi said.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Kagome whispered and yanked off her amulet that she had inherited from her youkai mother. "I am the hanyou of the fight, and not a youkai as the news cast wants to label me as."

The girls gasped out loud as they took in the dog ears, the fangs and the blue streaks in her hair. Cautiously, one of them stood up and lightly touched the ear closest to her, her hand darting back when it flicked away on its own accord. "Sugoi," she said, putting a hand to her mouth.

"The reason why I was hardly ever at school, and why jii-chan was always making up these really strange excuses about me being sick was because I was going back in time through the well on the shrine, which is actually a time portal, back to the feudal era to help fight against Naraku, and to put the shards of the Shikon no Tama back together after I accidentally shattered it when I shot a crow demon who had stolen it. During history class, when we read in the books, I'm sure you would often notice that I would gasp or stiffen up as I read. That is because I had just learned something to do with our travels. The history of Inuyasha is real. He is my husband, my mate. The reason why I was so concerned about the history of Japan was because I was that unnamed miko in the books, and I had learned what would happen next in our travels, and I knew I had to stop the deaths of my companions from happening.

"I traveled with a taijiya, a perverted monk, an orphaned fox youkai.

"The battle was caused because Naraku's spirit had returned from the spirit world, and wanted my soul to become powerful again. I had to fight him and kill him in order to keep me and my family safe from his wrath, but even if he had won, I had placed a spell over my family to protect them. The youkai that were encircling us were the ones that Shippou had rounded up for me in the space of a day. They were to protect you from harm.

"Yesterday, Hojo stopped by the shrine. He saw Kyashii in my arms, and asked about her. When I told him that she was mine and that I was married, he became angry. In order to stop him from harming Kyashii, I threatened him with torture and death, all the while trying to quell my demon side from rising up and killing him. Kyashii calmed down as I became angry, and then he realized who I was. He ran away, and Eri told me about him since he had last seen me. I guess that I put him in his place," Kagome told them.

"That would explain why Hojo was looking over his shoulder every five seconds a couple of days ago," Ayumi explained, hiding a smile at the fact that it was Kagome who had scared the shit out of the young annoying man. "But, why didn't you ever tell us who you really were?"

"I was afraid. When I was young, I had a bad experience with some young men who were, I guess the proper term would be torturing me while I was in my youkai form. Sometimes when some hanyous are young, they are born in their youkai forms until they are old enough to start controlling who they really are. I was one of them. Anyways, I had been backed into a corner until my youkai mother saved me," Kagome replied. "It is something to face some danger when you're that young, but not being able to do something to protect yourself leads to fear, and that's what happened to me."

"I see. And your children, are they hanyous as well?"

"Hai," Kagome curtly responded. "Do you still accept me for who I really am?"

"Of course we do. We understand why you never told us about your true self. Fear is powerful. And it can rule your life. I'm glad that you came out and told us," one of Kagome's friends said.

Youkai—demons

Kami—god

Hanyou—half demon

Miko—priestess

Inu—dog

Sugoi—wow/amazing

Domo arigatou gozaimasu—thank you very much

Gomensai—I'm sorry

Ka-chan—mother

Kyashii—a name. Translates to 'Kathy"

Jii-chan—grandfather

Shimatta—damn it (informal)

Nani—what

Taijiya—demon exterminator


	11. The Pain of Returning

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 11: The pain of returning

After saying goodbye to her friends later that day, well after telling them who she really was, and well after they had readily accepted her for who she was, Kagome leapt through the Bone Eater's well with Inuyasha and her children in their hanyou forms. Inuyasha had changed back into his fire rat's clothing, putting the hated, but the quite useful clothes of Kagome's time in the bag, with his Tetsusaiga sheathed at his hip once more.

"See you soon!" Eri called out a second before she watched as her friend lunged down the well, wondering all the while why Inuyasha carried around a ratty old sword at his side.

Climbing out of the bone eater's well on the other side of the time portal, Kagome waited patiently in the gently falling snow while Inuyasha jumped out of the well, holding his bag and one of the children in his arms. "Come on, I want to see how every one is doing at the village," she said, and took off at a brisk pace, her mate following a few steps behind her.

When they arrived at the village a few minutes later, she could sense the obvious change in the air. It was quiet, almost deathly still. Some one had died, and only a day ago. Slowly making her way to Kaede's hut, she was encountered by Shippou's tear streaked face.

"Shippou, what happened?" Kagome asked, worry flashing across her face for an instant.

"Kaede's dead," the fox youkai whispered.

"When did it happen?"

"It happened yesterday," came the answer in a very soft, broken voice full of pain, unable to say it as it was too fresh. "She wanted you to be there; she knew that she was dying. But she left you a note in the hut instead when she realized that you wouldn't be there when she left this world."

Solemnly making her way to Kaede's now newly vacant hut, Kagome picked up the parchment lying in the middle of the room, probably where Kaede breathed in her last breath before she died. "Kami," she exclaimed in a whisper as she read the document that would become her legacy.

"I allow for my adopted daughter, Kagome, descendant of Midoriko, to become head miko of the village that was under my care, without any argument from the fact that she is the only hanyou miko. I know, as does the rest of the village, that she is more than capable to care for the village."

Tears streaming down her face, Kagome ran out of the hut, holding Kyashii close to her. She ignored every one as they called out to her to stop or to slow down, including that of her mate. She ran like a she-devil, passing through the wolf youkai territory, her ears closing off the sound of their every day life. She stopped at a waterfall gazing at the beauty of it.

Throwing her head back, Kagome cried out, letting her pain and loss out, howling out in a beautiful song of despair. As she sat down on the ground, she wrapped herself in her past memories of the old woman whom she had considered as her ba-chan, pulling Kyashii in close to her body as the nightly winter chill approached. Her dark eyes sparkled in the thin waning moonlight, which was a sliver of silver that night. Tomorrow was the day of the new moon, and she would have to craft a carrier for Kyashii, for she would not be able to carry her child home in her youkai form. Quietly working on the device, which she started to construct out of the vines of the forest nearby, she sang Kyashii to sleep as she worked. She knew Inuyasha would ask her where she went when she got back to the village the next day.

'I really hope that he doesn't start a huge fuss about it when I get back tomorrow,' Kagome thought to herself, curling her body gently around Kyashii's silently sleeping form, protecting the baby from the cold elements that was falling from the dark sky above them.

Morning came, and Kagome awoke in her youkai body. Unfortunately, the snow had really come down during the night. The cold, white powder nearly rose to her stomach as she stood. Placing Kyashii in the carrier that she had constructed last night, the miko slowly made her way back to the village, going as fast as the snow allowed her to. She dared not jump for she wouldn't be able to do anything if she accidentally ended up at the bottom of a hole that the snow covered, either dead or unconscious. Sighing, she started walking to Kaede's village, no, wait, it was now her village to take care of, Kagome repeatedly told herself. She would have to go back to her time of birth and tell her mother and her friends that they wouldn't be seeing her for long periods of time with her new responsibility.

Entering the wolf youkai territory, Kagome shook the snow from her eyes and body again when she smelt Ayame nearby, including the stench of a boar demon, and then she caught a whiff of wolf blood. Following her nose, Kagome attacked the boar demon, leaving Kyashii in her carrier at Ayame's side. Powerful forelegs batted the demon aside as it turned to attack her, an intruder that was causing a disturbance before it could kill the wolf demon, its lunch. Snarling savagely, she clamped her jaws around the demon's neck and yanked as hard as she could, coming away with the demon's head in her mouth, its spine hanging down and flopping around.

"Is that you, Kagome?" Ayame asked in disbelief, remembering the rumors of the miko's youkai form which she took on the day of the new moon. It was one thing to hear about it, but another to see or be saved by her. She thought that Kagome's youkai form was beautiful, her black fur and electric blue stripes to match with her hanyou hair, and her golden eyes piercing all to the heart.

Nodding, Kagome went to Kyashii's side and told the ookami youkai that she had to go, for that night was the night of the new moon, the night when Inuyasha became human, and to say hello to Koga for her. Picking up the carrier, Kagome headed off in the direction of the village, her pace quickening for the snow wasn't as deep as it was in the morning at the waterfall side.

Fortunately, she did not receive and further distractions and was able to get to her village just a few minutes before the sun set. She felt her change happen, and watched with silent eyes as Inuyasha walked out of their hut, his hair black, eyes violet, claws and ears gone.

"About time you got here. Kaliya was upset since you left so fast after reading that note," the inu hanyou said. "Hai, I know what it said. I read it last night while I waited for you to show up."

"Arigatou, Inuyasha. I needed some time to myself," Kagome replied, bringing Kyashii in the hut and checking on Kaliya before putting both children to sleep in their beds. "I have to go across the well tomorrow. I have no clue on how to prepare for a burial ceremony for a priestess. I have to hit the books and tell my family about my becoming the miko of the village and that they will not see me as often as they wished they would."

"I understand. Go, I'll keep an eye on things here while you're gone to do your research," Inuyasha said, hugging his mate to him, kissing her on the lips, one hand tangled in her hair. Together, they headed to their bed, hoping for a night of peace and love.

The next morning, Kagome woke up extra early to get ready and head back to her time to find out more about how mikos were buried when they died in the Feudal Era, if it was ever natural. With all the demons wandering around in this day and time, she knew that it was hard, if nearly impossible, for some one to live well into their old age and die of natural causes. She knew that Inuyasha knew where she was going, but she left him a note all the same, not wanting him to wake up and not be able to remember what she had planned for the day, which occurred every now and again. As she hiked to the well, it started to rain. Cursing the falling elements, she noticed that the temperature was somewhat warmer than it had been yesterday, and she wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

Changing into dry clothes, Kagome called Eri and told the mortal to meet her outside the library in twenty minutes. Time was of no importance when one was a hanyou, but she still walked down to the building and made it there with five minutes to spare.

"Kagome, why did you ask me to meet you here at this hour in the morning?" Eri asked when she spotted the hanyou miko in disguise.

"I need some help. The old priestess of the village where I'm staying at died three days ago, and I need help to research about the burial rituals that were imposed back then," Kagome explained.

"Ah, I see now. Come on; let's go to the history section. I think I know just where to go," Eri said.

They had their books within ten minutes since they started looking for them, and they settled down at one of the tables near the back of the library to read. They found one which outlined the ritual, but didn't do them much justice, so they continued on to another book.

Kagome gasped when she read through her fourth book. It was a diary, a rewritten version from the original. It told of a great flood after the priestess of a village had died. The hanyou miko recognized the date and the village. "Kuso. The village, my village is going to be flooded tomorrow. Come, I need your help to evacuate the people," Kagome told Eri.

"I found what you want. Let me check this book out and you can put the rest of them on the trolley over there, and then we can leave," Eri exclaimed in a whisper. She made her way to the book checkout counter, and met Kagome outside. "Now, what's this about you needing my help to evacuate your village?"

"It is exactly what it sounds like. Since Kaede died, I have inherited the role of the village miko. It was what she wanted. And since I just read in a book that my village is going to experience a flood tomorrow, I need your help to warn the villagers, and to help get the elderly and the young situated in a protected area," Kagome answered, pulling Eri with her as she ran to the shrine, and the well, grabbing her ancestor's sword as she passed it.

"Jumping down that rickety old well won't hurt me, right?" Eri asked, eyeing the portal of time hidden by the old thing.

"No. And besides, I'll be there to keep you from hurting yourself," Kagome assured the girl, and jumped down, Eri following right behind her with a little shriek of fear from the sudden jump.

When Eri opened her eyes, she noticed that she was standing in the well, but when she looked up, she noticed a clear blue sky broken by scattered clouds. Climbing out with Kagome following behind her, she stared in awe at the forest that surrounded her. "This is amazing. So that's how it goes. I never thought that time travel would be so invigorating," the girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, we need to get to the village. It isn't all that far away from here," Kagome said. "It'll be faster if I carry you there, and that way, you won't be attacked by any demons on the way." Changing into her youkai form, Kagome patiently waited while Eri tentatively got on her back, the mortal's hands finding purchase in the rough, yet silky smooth fur of the hanyou miko. Then she took off, keeping her speed well under that of what she was capable of obtaining. They arrived at the edge of the village within five minutes, compared to the original fifteen it took to walk there from the well.

Inuyasha, having reverted to his hanyou form, watched as Kagome walked into the village. He could tell by the look on her face that there was something wrong. She must have found out what she needed, and found out that while she read those history books, there was something that they would have to face.

"Miko. The priest and the taijiya have arrived with their children and the cat demon," a villager informed her as she passed by him in the fields.

Allowing Eri to get off, Kagome reverted back to her hanyou state and spoke quietly to him. He nodded and promised to pass the word about the meeting she would hold as the sun set.

Sango sighed as she kept her two young sons apart from each other. These two were the most trouble she had to contend with, other than the fact that she had to contend with Miroku's wandering hand when they were on their travels to collect the rest of the Shikon no Tama shards. Hefting her hiraikotsu, Sango picked up the elder of the young boys and sat him on Kilala, telling the cat demon to keep him out of trouble when she saw Kagome, and a girl who wore the clothing of Kagome's time across the well, walk towards them, away from the village's fields. "Kagome, I came as soon as I heard that Kaede died and that you had been appointed the new miko of the village. I came to say I'm sorry," the taijiya said.

"It's all right, Sango. I need your help anyway. I just went across the well to find out how they buried the dead who died of old age instead of being slaughtered by demons, when I found out that this area will become flooded tomorrow," Kagome told her friend.

"Kilala and I will be glad to help, and so will Miroku," Sango replied. "When will you tell every one?"

"I will tell them as soon as the sun sets. There will be enough time to get every one out of here during the night, with all of us working together, and that includes every one getting their live stock in order," Kagome answered. "I need you to help get some of the essentials to your village, for that's where we will be going to stay until the flooding is gone. Oh, and this is one of my friends from across the well, Eri. She knows who I really am, so at least she won't be too surprised."

"It is good to meet one of Kagome's friends who have readily accepted her for who she really is," Sango said, holding out a hand to the younger girl, dressed in casual clothing consisting of pants and a strange top with writing on in that read '_No money. No car. No chance_'. "My name is Sango."

Eri was surprised at the strength this woman had in her hand as she shook it. It must come from hauling that huge bone boomerang that Sango had to carry around all the time, which must have weighed a ton, much less to throw it.

"While I'm still thinking about it, how's Kohaku?" Kagome asked, black ears flicking lazily in the sun.

"He's well. He has stayed behind to finish work on one of the huts. Some how, he knew that one of these days the rest would be used for one reason or another," Sango answered, turning to head to the village, fully intended on helping the village that her friend had full responsibility for.

People started to notice when Kagome and her friends started to clear out some of the supply huts, loading them on Kilala so the cat demon could bring them to Sango's village. They sent Shippou and Rin with her to pass word onto Kohaku, incase the boy became perplexed at the fact that Kilala was bringing in food. As the sun started to set, Kagome called the villagers together, and told them what was happening. Realizing the danger, the villagers packed up what they could and followed Inuyasha on horseback as he led the way to the taijiya village. Kagome and Eri went through the huts, checking to see if there was anything that was left behind. They found nothing and left by foot, ignoring the rain that fell to the ground as it poured buckets. The village would be completely flooded by morning, and there would probably be nothing left to salvage or to return to.

"Good bye, Kaede," Kagome whispered as she left the village that was under her care without a second glance backwards. She would have to become the priestess of the taijiya village, and care for more than there were in Kaede's village.

"Kagome, is there something you need to talk about?" Eri asked when she noticed that her friend was unusually quiet.

"It is nothing. I'm just thinking about the villagers, and if I'll be able to protect them all. I am, after all, the first hanyou miko that these people have seen, and I know that some of them aren't too sure if I can protect them when there is a youkai raid, or that some still just don't trust me because of my nature," Kagome answered, a hand fidgeting with her hair. "I can fight, and I can heal. What do they expect of me? What do they want me to do? Can I live up to their expectations?"

"You're asking the wrong person, but let me say this. I know that you can protect them all, fight for them and heal them, but do you think that you are ready for this responsibility that is on your shoulders?" Eri answered.

"Since when did you become so wise?" Kagome asked, feigning suspicion. "Who are you, and what have you done to the real Eri?"

"Nothing. I'm the one and only, and no one can try and be me if I'm me," Eri said, giggling.

The next morning, after sleeping in a strange village under a new roof, that had once been host to a ghost town, but was now mostly rebuilt, Kagome awoke to a strange sense of peace. She relaxed for a bit, before getting up. Inuyasha had all ready left, she noticed as she dressed in comfortable robes. She could hear a confrontation outside, with the familiar voice of Koga, the leader of the ookami youkai tribe that lived not all too far away from here.

"Mutt, get the hell out of my face," the wolf demon snarled.

"I don't think so, wolf-boy. I am not going to let you in to the village," Inuyasha roared back.

"Koga, I told you nearly a year ago to get the hell out of my face, but I told you more politely than Inuyasha is doing right now. Now, either get out of this village of I will castrate you myself, and then purify you after a week of pain and suffering," Kagome said as she exited the hut that she and Inuyasha had taken for the night. A small dagger appeared out of thin air, and it glowed with her miko powers. "I'm ready to start whenever you are."

Gulping, Koga took off. If he had a tail, it would have been between his legs as he ran in fear from the dangerous hanyou miko that he had once loved. Finally accepting her answer, the wolf leader couldn't wait to see his Ayame, his beautiful Ayame.

Hanyou—half demon

Youkai—demon

Kami—God

Miko—priestess

Ba-chan—mother

Ookami—wolf

Inu—dog

Hai—yes

Arigatou—thank you

Kuso—shit, damn, fuck. In this case, it's the last one.

Taijiya—demon slayer

Hiraikotsu—Sango's weapon, you know, the big boomerang one.

Hey people. I'm sorry for the previous chapter. It isn't kyashii who loves violence, it is Kaliya. Just thought I'd point that out to you.


	12. Young Love

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 12: Young Love

About a week later, the area around the village that had once belonged to Kaede was still flooded, but the waters were starting to slowly subside from the lands. The day after bringing Eri across the well to help her with the evacuation of her village, Kagome had returned to the well, despite the heavy rains, and had brought her back to the future, telling her family about her new position, and what had happened to Kaede the day before when she had revealed her true self to her friends. Her mother and jii-chan had congratulated extensively her on her success, but Souta wished to see his sister more often than what he was able to, or to at least go across the well, even if she wasn't his biological sibling.

"Souta, I'll come by and visit you, and I'll bring you across the well when you are a few years older. I don't want you to get hurt over there. Don't worry though. I'll even bring Rin and Shippou with me next time I cross over," Kagome told her brother. "But I have to go. I have a village that is in my care, and I don't plan on abandoning them to the mercy of the youkai."

Satisfied with that answer, Souta nodded, and happily stuffed his face with some take-out food. He was hungry, and seeing his sister had satisfied his curiosity for the moment. He also wanted to see Rin again, and really hoped that Kagome would bring her across sometime. It was possible that Cupid's arrow had struck him when he first laid eyes on her.

Kagome waved good bye to her family and jumped through the well, and landed in the pouring rain. She ran all the way to the taijiya village, the landscape blurring. Arriving at the village, Kagome shook the water out of her eyes and stood in the shelter of the village's barricade before heading back out in the deluge in order to make her way to her hut.

Kaliya and Kyashii, even though they were just a few weeks old, were trying to get to their feet. The hanyou children were very determined, and Kaliya was starting to develop a bit of an attitude, but not enough to become a problem. She would become a fighter, and do her parents proud.

Many years passed, and Kagome continued to go back and forth through the well, sometimes bringing her children, or the two that she had adopted with her, Rin and Shippou. Souta had become much more bold and had told Kagome in private that he had a crush on Rin. The girl had told the miko the same thing. Smiling with the pride of a mother, Kagome made sure that they would meet in a certain place at a certain time and that they were alone.

Kaliya had proven to her parents that she was a fighter. There had been a small horde of youkai that had invaded the village, and she had fought alongside the villagers, and destroyed many of the demons where they stood. She had used an attack that called forth the power of the sun in the form of a spear, and when she threw it, there was a beautiful explosion where it landed.

Kyashii, on the other hand, was more peaceful, and proved to be very adept at healing the humans. Her skills came from Kagome, as did her twin sisters' abilities. The oldest twin had a kind heart and could read Kaliya like a book, which was different because no one else could read her.

One day, Kaliya was pestering Kagome in order to go hunting for food alone. No one else was readily available to help the young hanyou and she wasn't about to be turned down.

"Mother, I can hunt on my own, you know. No one will come near me and harm me, I swear. I won't allow it to happen," Kaliya said, crossing her arms across her chest, pouting.

"I know that, Kailya. I just think that you're not ready to take this hunt on right at this age. There is always that possibility that you will get hurt. Look at Sango, Miroku, your father or I. Not all hunts go according to plan," Kagome answered her feisty daughter.

"And just what age were you when those bullies hurt when you knew about your youkai side? Or when you started hunting the Shikon shards and fighting Naraku for their possession?" Kaliya countered.

"I get your point. Fine, I'll let you go on your own, but if you get hurt, you'll be grounded after you are healed," Kagome gave in.

"Don't worry, Mother. I won't get hurt," Kaliya said and hugged Kagome before bounding out the door, grabbing her set of daggers, her bow and arrows and her sword as she passed them. She grinned at the people she knew when they called out to her. They all could tell by her demeanor that she had been allowed to hunt on her own for the first time.

An hour later, and about ten miles away from the village, Kaliya crouched down in the undergrowth of a few very dense berry bushes. There was a young deer not all too far away from her position. Quietly placing an arrow on her bow, she aimed it very carefully at her target. Taking a deep breath, she let the arrow fly after expelling half of it. It struck home in the animal's heart. As the young hanyou got up and started to her fallen prey, a youkai jumped out from behind a tree not too far away from the deer and attacked her. Taken by surprise, Kaliya tried to fend off the demon herself, but she couldn't see the attack that it threw at her. Crying out in pain and surprise, Kaliya dropped to the ground. Struggling to get away, she palmed one of her daggers when something blurred at the edge of her vision.

Tenshi Suoh, a half demon of the northern dark dog tribe, turned out because of his heritage, growled at the youkai, his fingers tightly clenching the sword that he held in both hands. 'Come on, Hayabusa. Don't fail me now.' He thought. "Hinotama," he shouted, the sword throwing balls of fire at the demon, killing it. Sheathing the weapon, he turned to the injured female hanyou and brought her to his cave, where he was staying for the time being. He had to heal her, and it would be better to do so while she was still in a state of unconsciousness.

Kaliya groaned and sat up. Her head swam with pain but a hand kept her from falling back on her back. Eyes opening wide, she took in the handsome features of a hanyou with chestnut hair and amber highlights. His ears were medium brown and his deep sapphire blue eyes bore deep into her golden orbs. "Who are you?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"My name is Tenshi Suoh. I saved you from that demon. I brought you to my cave, where I am staying at for the moment and healed you," he said.

"Arigatou," Kaliya replied and did a double take. "Wait. If you healed me, how long was I out?"

"Not that long. You were only out about thirty minutes or so. I have this ability to heal people, hanyou or youkai immediately if they need it. I refrained from healing you back there for fear of another youkai coming around and killing you and me," Tenshi Suoh answered her question.

"Oh man. I told Mother that I wouldn't get hurt while I hunted. What is she going to do?" Kaliya panicked.

"You have no wounds to account for, except for the blood on your clothes. I have an extra pair of clothing for you, if you want it," Tenshi Suoh said, holding out a plain haori and hakama.

Quickly changing into the offered clothes, Kaliya grinned. "Come with me. I'm sure that my mother will find a place for you to stay in her village, well, my village," she said.

"Why should she be able to find me a place to stay?" Tenshi Suoh asked containing his surprise as well as he could like he had been trained to do before he had been turned out from his tribe.

"She's a miko. A hanyou miko and she's sympathetic to those without homes. She took in a kitsune whose parents had been killed by a couple of demons aptly named the Thunder Brothers," Kaliya answered.

"I see," Tenshi Suoh said, unable to hide the suspicion in his voice. He couldn't help it. He had heard many stories about priestesses killing demons because of what they were.

"Don't worry. She won't purify you into dust. She has a kind heart and I am her daughter after all," Kaliya reassured him.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that we are going any where. There is a storm brewing and it will hit this area pretty soon," Tenshi Suoh told her, and true to his word, a flash of lightning struck, and it began to pour buckets.

Kaliya curled up in a corner of that cave, with her savior taking first watch. After the day's events and the healing, he was tired, and he unintentionally fell asleep by the cave's entrance.

Deep in the silent forest, a small gang of rogue ookami youkai made their way as fast as possible to the cave in this weather, intending to stay there until the storm had passed.

Kaliya was rudely awakened from her sleep by a rough, clawed hand covering her mouth. Trying to twist away from the grip, the young hanyou found a dagger at her throat. She could hear scuffling as the invaders tried to subdue Tenshi Suoh, and so far the invaders were winning the short battle.

"Cease struggling, or do you wish to see your mate hurt?" a harsh voice demanded from some where above her.

Falling into the role of Kaliya's mate, Tenshi Suoh quit struggling and allowed himself to be bound, his hands behind his back. He growled when they approached Kaliya, but they ignored him, choosing instead to continue their rough fondling of the hanyou miko's daughter. He was disgusted with himself. How could he have fallen asleep like that? You were exhausted from the healing you performed on Kaliya, he reminded himself.

Kaliya whimpered as the ookami youkai ran a hand over her breasts. They knew that she was an inu; they could smell her scent, she was sure of it. As she tried to pull away, she was rewarded with a hard slap across the face for her actions. Angered by the move against her, she summoned the powers she had inherited from her mother and lashed out, causing several of the wolf demons to receive burns, some of which were quite serious. She watched as they all cautiously backed away from her, now wary of their captives.

"You want to let us go, or do I have to get serious with you all?" Kaliya snapped at them.

Suddenly afraid for their lives, the demons turned tail and ran. Staggering to her feet, Kaliya made her way to Tenshi Suoh's side and unbound him. She hid her surprise when he caressed her cheek and looked her straight in the eye. "Daijobu desu ka?" he asked.

"Not really. I got a nice headache right now, and I want to go back to sleep. Just hold me for right now, okay?" she said.

"Sure," Tenshi Suoh said and watched as she slept. Sighing, he curled up beside her and fell asleep, too.

When morning came, Kaliya had it in her mind that she was going to hunt down those wolf demons and find out from which tribe they all came from. She had a sneaking suspicion that one of them was the son of the wolf demon tribe leader, Koga, his tribe located near her place.

"And what makes you think that?" Tenshi Suoh asked her as they followed the trail as best they could since the rain from last night's storm had washed away nearly every scent there was.

"It's just a feeling I have, and I always listen to them. I've survived much by listening to them when they pop up," Kaliya replied, taking a sharp turn, heading for the river. As she tracked the ookami youkai, she contacted her sister psychically. It was an ability that they had picked up one day after they had hit puberty in human years, and no one else knew about it. There would be a change in that information, since Kaliya was telling her twin sister, Kyashii to tell their parents what was happening. '_Kyashii, I need your help_.'

'_You need my help with what, sister_?' Kyashii's calm response floated through her mind.

'_I need you to tell mom and dad about our secret. I also need you to tell them that we are hunting a band of rogue ookami youkai. I have a feeling that one of them is Koga's son. Can you ask them to find him and ask him, nicely, if possible?_' Kaliya explained.

'_I can do that. Is there anything else you need me to tell them other than that?_' Kyashii asked.

'_Tell them that when they see me, don't attack. I have a hanyou friend with me who saved me from a demon attack after I killed a deer for some of the village, and I don't want him hurt. He was angry with the ookami youkai when they started to fondle me inappropriately_,' Kaliya told her. '_We're going down the river that's located a few miles away from the village._'

'_I got it. I'll tell them now. See you in a bit_,' Kyashii said and her presence disappeared.

Continuing on down the side of the river, Kaliya finally found traces of where the ookami youkai had stayed for the night under a dense copse of trees to protect them from the falling elements. "There's a sign of our quarry. They aren't all that far ahead of us now. This was here earlier this morning," she told Tenshi Suoh, unaware of many sets of eyes burning in anger as they watched Kaliya and her companion walk down stream of the river and the falsely laid trail. They were walking into a trap, and they had no clue what kind of dangers lay ahead of them.

Kagome stared at one of her daughters. Kyashii had just come in the hut and told her that Kaliya could speak to her sister with her mind and that they were hunting a band of ookami youkai that had come into a cave and had fondled her with malicious intentions. The fact that one of the members of the small band might be one of Koga's sons was new, including the fact that Kaliya had picked up a friend who hated the wolf demons for what they were doing to her daughter and wanted to rip their throats out when he found them.

"I'll kill those wolves," Inuyasha snarled when he digested the news, his eyes flashing dangerously to red before turning back to gold, preventing him from turning full demon.

"Not if I get there first," Kagome said, laying a hand on his shoulder, easing his anger and frustration. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Where did she say she was going? Do you know?"

"They were heading downstream of the river that's almost two miles away from the village," Kyashii answered. "And please don't attack the other hanyou. He's the one who saved Kaliya from a demon attack when she had killed a deer for the village. I don't know how, but I know that he did."

"Thank you for telling us about this secret and about what's happening to Kaliya, Kyashii," Kagome said, throwing her quiver of arrows over her shoulder and tying Midoriko's sword around her waist.

Inuyasha made sure that Tetsusaiga was securely attached to his hip before following his mate out of their hut and letting Kyashii lead them to where Kaliya was heading. They trusted her with all of their heart and soul and knew that there would be no mistakes as to where the other two hanyous had gone when Kyashii was in direct psychic contact with her twin.

It was slow going, the rain having turned the ground into soggy mud. It was difficult. For each ten steps they took, the mud bogged them down to reduce their efforts to half that pace, and that put them behind faster than they made any leeway. Still, they were extremely determined to make it to the river side and help Kaliya and her hanyou friend. Many hours later, they made it to the river bank, but discovered that they had a long ways left to go. They had to go downstream for a long walk before they came across the evidence of the camp that the ookami youkai had been during the night. As they walked, Kyashii was in constant mental contact with Kaliya, updating her parents on what was happening. Unfortunately, as they reached the shelter, Kyashii stopped in horror.

"Kyashii, what is it?" Kagome asked.

"It's Kaliya. They've been thrown into the river, both of them," she answered. "They're heading to the water fall, and they have no way to stop it. They are going to go over the edge."

Their hearts racing at the thought of losing Kaliya, the family ran all the way downstream, stopping when they found the group of wolf demons. There was nothing that would stop Inuyasha from killing the entire group for harming one of his girls, as he reached for Tetsusaiga, whipping the sword out of its saya.

Jii-chan—grandfather

Youkai—demon

Taijiya—demon slayer

Hanyou—half demon

Miko—priestess

Tenshi—angel

Suoh—dragon

Hayabusa—falcon

Hinotama—fireball

Arigatou—thank you

Haori/hakama—shirt and pants, respectively

Kitsune—fox child

Ookami—wolf

Inu—dog

Daijobu desu ka—are you ok

Saya—scabbard


	13. Young Love, part 2

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 13: Young Love, part 2

"Kaliya!" Kagome screamed in fear, skidding to a halt at the river bank, eyes watching as the water rushed past her.

"Kagome-sama?" a scared voice question.

Turning around, Kagome regarded the group of ookami youkai with anger in her eyes. "You threw my daughter and her friend down that waterfall, Jakku. Tell me why I should not take my retribution if she dies?" she snarled, ignoring Inuyasha, who was trying to hold her back.

"I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to me. They told me that if I didn't follow them, they would kill me," Jakku replied.

Inuyasha threw back his head and howled loud and long, calling out to Koga. Maybe his rival would be able to smack some sense into Jakku's thick skull. Golden eyes burning with hatred, Inuyasha grabbed Jakku by the scruff, while Kagome rounded the others with her miko powers. They sat the wolves on the ground, and they were surrounded by a barrier. As Kagome and Inuyasha paced angrily, they quietly listened to their hushed whispers.

"You didn't tell us that she was the hanyou miko's daughter, Jakku," one of them hissed.

"I tried, but you wouldn't listen to me," Jakku replied.

"Damn you. I should have just killed you and have been done with it," another growled.

"You are all bakas. Did you not feel the purity behind the power when she pushed us all away from her when you were all eager to take advantage of her?" Jakku asked them.

Letting the conversation go on, Kagome was the first to sense Koga's presence with her miko powers. "Koga," she simply said.

Inuyasha waited until the ookami oyukai was standing in front of him before he said any thing. "Koga, I'm disappointed in you for not raising your son properly. If you had, Kaliya wouldn't be at the bottom of that waterfall because of him and his friends. My mate was going to kill them all, but I called you here so you would know what has been going on with your offspring," Inuyasha snarled. "You are pathetic. They wanted to rape my daughter last night."

Turning to his son, Koga asked, "Is this true?"

Jakku nodded. "They wanted to take advantage of her. I was posted to guard at the mouth of the cave. It was raining, and we wanted shelter. When they found out that Kaliya and her companion were there, they decided to have a little fun while we waited out the storm," he said.

"Why you little bastard," the first speaker snarled, running his hand through Jakku's gut.

Snarling savagely, Kagome lowered her barrier long enough to get that youkai outside and hold him at arms length over the churning white waters of the waterfall. She squeezed his throat. "You know what I should do? I should purify you, and the others for what you have done to my daughter. If she still lives, who will want her? Who will care for her and makes sure that this matter is dealt justice? It certainly as hell won't be you, that's for sure," she snarled at him.

Squealing, the wolf demon twisted in her grasp. Suddenly, he was thrown back on to the ground. He tried to run, but his feet wouldn't obey what his mind told them to do. It made his blood run cold in his veins at the thought that he had killed the hanyou miko's daughter, her companion and had possibly killed the local wolf tribe leader's son. Gulping, he bowed his head and cried.

Kyashii paid no attention to the spectacle occurring behind her. She kept staring out at the churning water, hoping that the emptiness she felt was not because her twin sister was dead. Memories from their childhood sprang to mind. She smiled when she remembered the first time Kaliya had touched their father's sword. Her eyes had lit up like it was Christmas time and her tiny hand had tightly gripped the hilt of the weapon, almost wanting to wield it right then and there. But, Inuyasha had walked in then, with Kagome and he had told her that Kaliya would be a strong fighter, that she had the spirit to survive. Gray eyes brimming with unshed tears, she jerked when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

'_Kyashii! I need you to climb down, please. I'm hurt and so is Tenshi Suoh. He can't heal me like he did when the demon attacked me after I killed that deer,_' Kaliya mind voice was quiet and it shook.

'_I'm coming, Kaliya. Just hold still for a while longer. Where are you?_' Kyashii asked.

'_We're located just at the base of the falls. You'll see us as soon as you get to the bottom of the cliff. Please hurry, Kyashii,_' Kaliya urged.

Without a second thought for her own safety, Kyashii started climbing down. Her quick hands found sturdy grips in the rock face. The spray of the water stung her eyes as she descended, but she ignored it, blinking furiously to clear her vision. Finally, she reached the bottom and searched frantically for her twin. There she was, over by a cave nearly hidden by the rushing water of the water fall. Running to her sister's side, she hugged her before becoming all business.

Kaliya had sustained broken ribs and her legs were badly broken. Tenshi Suoh, on the other hand, was worse. He was losing blood, fast, from a cut on his arm. He had a broken arm and a broken leg, but what worried Kyashii the most was that he was hardly breathing at all. She did what she could for Tenshi Suoh's cut on his arm and managed to slow the bleeding and wrapped her twin's ribs. She also quickly set their broken limbs and tied them to sturdy branches.

"Okay. I have to bring you both up there at the same time. Kaliya, I want you to hold on to Tenshi Suoh, and hold on tight. Try to keep him still if he wakes up. This is going to be very tricky," Kyashii told her and tied them both to her. Very carefully, she slung them over her back and made sure that the rope kept them secure at her waist. Taking a deep breath, she started to climb back up the cliff face, hoping and praying to Kami that they wouldn't fall to their deaths. Climbing slowly, but steadily, she gained ground on the edge. All ready, her breathing was labored from the strain, but she kept on going.

Kagome was the first one to notice that her other daughter was missing as she was tending to Jakku's wound. "Kyashii, where are you?" she called out. She got no answer, except for the roaring sound of the rushing water as it hurtled over the edge of the cliff face. Then there came a sudden sound, a strained roar. Looking over the edge of the cliff, Kagome noticed a dog that was some what larger than a fawn. Tied to its back were Kaliya and a male inu hanyou. Gray eyes peered at Kagome before recognition dawned in those orbs. Gently, Kyashii woofed at her mother before resuming her climb to the top of the cliff.

Scrambling over the cliff's edge, Kyashii collapsed out of exhaustion. She watched out of half closed eyes as Inuyasha and Kagome cut her burden loose before changing back to her humanoid form. "I've done all that I can for them down there. They need to go back to the future in order to get proper attention for their injuries," she panted and passed out.

"Shimatta," Inuyasha swore as he picked up Kyashii and cradled her while his mate did more to try and heal the injuries that Kaliya and Tenshi Suoh had sustained. Glancing up, he noticed that the ookami youkai of the small group that had been responsible for throwing Kaliya and her friend down the cliff were staring in amazement. They hadn't expected them to survive the fall, yet here they were, injured, but still alive. "Koga, take them away from here. Take them far away, and if they hurt my daughters again, I will not hesitate to kill them."

Nodding, Koga led the small group away from the waterfall, his eyes blazing in anger. His son and his friends would reap the severe punishment that was heading their way.

Kaliya groaned from her position on the ground. Golden eyes cracking open, she stared into Tenshi Suoh's beautiful deep blue sapphire eyes as they stared back at her. She smiled softly at him and clasped his hand tightly in hers. "I love you," she whispered to him.

"As do I," he responded and they both drifted off again under the watchful eyes of Kagome and Inuyasha.

A week and a half later, Tenshi Suoh and Kaliya were fully recovered. Their youkai blood helped them heal much faster than normal and they were back in the past before they knew it.

"We should go see your family, Tenshi," Kaliya said one night as they lay in bed. He told her the first time she called him 'Tenshi' that he didn't mind, so she had continued to use his shorter name.

"Kaliya, I am an outcast. They would not want to see me for as long as I live," Tenshi said. "They are all youkai, royal black dog youkai. They were ashamed that one of theirs would mate with a human, so when I was born, I was considered an outcast and sent away. My father was a human, but he couldn't care for me, so he gave me away to another family who had no children and cared deeply for me. That family raised me until I was ready to go out into the world on my own. Since then, I have not seen another hanyou in my life."

"We will go see your family. They will realize what they have done," Kaliya said and fell asleep snuggled up against him.

That morning, after having discussed the matter with her parents, Kaliya packed a few things, mostly fine haoris and hakamas. She dressed in a black kimono with medium blue flowers on it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was fancy enough to show that she came from a respected background.

Tenshi dressed in the traditional robes that Inuyasha had gotten for him. Even though the elder hanyou thought that it was payment for having saved his daughter from the attacking demon, he knew that the love blossoming between Kaliya and himself would still be enough. Slinging his traveling pack over his shoulder, he joined Kaliya and her family.

"They won't be so easy to convince about this, you know," he said, referring to the reason why they were going to see his parents, or, rather, his mother, and to confront her mate.

"They don't know much, do they? I want them to know what they missed out on without having you in their life. I want them to know that if they hear your name that they should bow in respect, the respect that you need, that you deserve," Kaliya told him. "We all agree on this and this is what we are going to do, even if I have to go back to the future and get one of the weapons there and threaten them with it. I won't take no for an answer."

With that said out loud, everyone grabbed their individual packs, and headed towards the north. Sango, Miroku, their children, Kohaku and Kirara were with them as well. They were leaving the village in capable hands that had been trained for this sort of thing. Slowly, weeks went by, until, one day, they were stopped by two royal black dog guards.

"Who are you, and for what reason do you come this way?" one of them asked, bristling in defense.

Stepping forward, Tenshi spoke to them. "My name is Tenshi Suoh. I have come to see my mother, and I will not take no for an answer. You may accompany us if you must," he told them. He knew that they had been told about him, when their eyes widened in surprise.

"Who are your companions?" the other asked, clenching his weapon tightly, his voice coming out strained to the breaking point of fear.

"They are the ones who killed Naraku, and their children. The females are Kaliya and Kyashii, twin daughters of the hanyou miko, Kagome, and the hanyou, Inuyasha, and their adopted son, Shippou. These boys are Dane and Lauyr, sons of the taijiya, Sango, and the monk, Miroku,"

"They may pass," a guard said, backing away from the most powerful group in the Feudal Era. He was mostly scared of Kagome. He was told that being near a miko would mean death from purification. He was also told that it was a painful way to go. "We will accompany you to the city."

The city of the northern black dog tribe was beautiful. A castle stood in the middle of a field of brightly colored wild flowers. Servants strode in and out of the one storey building, all dressed in blood red kimonos. Most of the stopped when they recognized one or two of the group, but they all stopped to stare at Tenshi as he strode past. They were whispering about him and about Kagome and her friends when the hanyou miko suddenly turned around and snarled at them. They scurried back, suddenly afraid for their lives. Content, she turned back and hooked an arm around Inuyasha's waist as they were led to the castle entrance.

"Milord, the outcast son of your wife has returned with the ones who killed Naraku," one of the guards who had led them there said, bowing out of respect for the higher rank youkai.

"I told that runt not to return to my lands," a handsome male youkai with midnight black hair swept back out of his face snarled. His green eyes flashed angrily as he stood up and advanced threateningly, ignoring his mate as she pleaded with him to leave her son alone. Her pale eyes flicked back and forth wildly, blindly, as she grasped her mate's hand, but it slipped out of her hand, leaving her wit tears silently running down her cheeks.

"Leave him alone, you bastard!" Kaliya shouted out, throwing herself in front of Tenshi's mother's mate, claws flashing through the air as she did her best to protect the one she loved so much. "If you hurt him, you will have to go through me. But, then, you'll have to face my family, and I don't think that you'll want to go up against miko powers."

Malkee pulled up short. This half breed wasn't afraid to put her life on the line for this bastard creature? Then again, she was also a bastard half breed, and unworthy of such a high position that she had been born into from what her parents had done in the past. "Get out of my way, wench," he growled, slapping her so hard that she flew across the room.

There was a collective silence as every one took in what had just happened. Then all hell broke loose.

Kagome unsheathed Midoriko's sword and fought off the guards while her friends did the same thing. Tenshi threw himself in front of the youkai lord, his sword, Hayabusa, flashing out of its sheathe as he countered the attacks that were relentlessly thrown at him. Fed up with this kind of treatment, he unleashed Hayabusa's ultimate attack. "Hinotama!" he shouted. Basketball sized fireballs flew through the air, connecting with Malkee and throwing him backwards, and leaving him slightly singed. "Leave her alone!"

Stunned from the impact with the wall, Malkee shook his head and launched himself at the half breed. He was angry, and he intended to rip Tenshi Suoh limb from limb, and then kill him ever so slowly. His claws whistled through the air as he sought to sink them in flesh. He grinned when he managed to slice through clothes and flesh alike, drawing blood with a couple of swings.

Starting to become dizzy from the slow loss of blood from the wounds that had been inflicted, Tenshi retaliated angrily. Discarding Hayabusa, he swung his claws, sinking them in Malkee's shoulder. Savagely snarling, Tenshi sunk his teeth in his opponents' neck, thoroughly enjoying the slick, coppery taste of blood as it flowed into his mouth. Throwing his head back, he howled, bloodied teeth flashing out from a blood stained mouth. He was letting his demon side take over, and he didn't care in the least. All he wanted to do was protect the one his human side loved, the one his demon side wanted as a mate and to bear his children. This would be enough to prove to Malkee that he could do it, that he could protect her and that he wasn't as worthless as his mother's mate obviously thought he was.

Groggily, Kaliya sat up from where she had been slumped against the wall. With one look, she could tell that tenshi was very close to letting his demon side take over and to let it wreck havoc on any one or anything. "Stop!" she shouted, getting to her feet unsteadily. "This is for nothing. Malkee is quite obviously racist, hating the ones that he doesn't understand. It doesn't mean that we have to fight him for absolutely nothing at all."

"I agree with you," Lady Amaya said quietly. With care, she stood up, and, using her hearing, she stood beside Kaliya. "This little fighter speaks the truth. There shall be no fights in this house between Malkee and my son, or his companions. It shall be instant death if you do the exact opposite of what I have told you. Now, I want to be with my son and his friends in peace."

Once every one had left, Tenshi hugged his mother, greeting her warmly. "Mother, this is Kaliya, the one I love. These are her parents, Inuyasha and Kagome, and her twin sister, Kyashii. Their companions are Shippou, a fox demon, Sango, a taijiya, Miroku, a monk, their children, Dane and Lauyr, and Kirara, the nekomata," he said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I'm glad that my son found others who love him as much as I do," Amaya said, a smile gracing her face. She reached forward and touched Kagome's face. "And you, little hanyou miko, I thank you for befriending my son when there was no one in the world for him."

"I only did what I could. It was all I could do for the one who protected my daughter. I'm glad that they have found love, like I had when I was their age, and fighting Naraku, and his minions," Kagome replied with a smile of her own as she patted Amaya's hand. "But, now, onto other things. We came here not only to see you, but to ask you a question."

"What would that be, child?" Amaya asked.

"We would like you to come live with us, so you could be near your son, without having to deal with Malkee each and every time you would like to visit him," Kagome said.

Sama—lord/lady

Ookami—wolf

Youkai—demon

Jakku—Jack, or supposed to mean Jack

Miko—priestess

Hanyou—half demon

Baka—idiot

Tenshi—angel

Suoh—dragon

Inu—dog

Shimatta—damn it

Haori—shirt

Hakama—pants

Taijiya—demon slayer

Hayabusa—falcon

Hinotama—fireball

Amaya—

Nekomata—two-tailed cat demon


	14. Epilogue

Inuyasha: Sweet Dreams and a Happy Life

Chapter 14: Returning: Epilogue

Jerking her head up at the words, Amaya quickly thought the suggestions over carefully. There would be no problems if she went with her son, at least none that she could foresee. And she would like to live with the son that she hadn't seen in such a long time. Closing her eyes, she smiled at them, and nodded her consent. "I would love to come with you," she said.

"That is good news. I am giving you the choice to decide when we may leave," Kagome said. "But it cannot be too long. I have an adopted daughter and she would like to go see the one she loves."

"Very well. We may leave early in the morning," Amaya said. "I would like for you and my son to come with me for a moment, if it isn't any trouble."

"There's no problem with that," Tenshi Suoh replied. The young hanyou gently helped his mother to her feet and followed her instructions that led to her chamber, with Kagome following them.

Inuyasha grunted quietly and walked out of the room. He stood outside with Kaliya and Kyashii as they lounged around the garden. His friends had stayed inside and they spoke among themselves about Malkee's behavior. "What are you thinking about?" he asked his daughters.

"Just about what could have happened when Malkee attacked Tenshi and myself, Father," Kaliya responded keeping her gaze fixed on the beautiful flowers that grew before her. "I'm glad that he got turned on his ass, though. He may be the Lord of this region, but he has no right to treat others like that. I'm glad that Mother came across time. They have the most right of way that I have seen than they do here. Some times the racism that I see is no better than getting tortured and killed."

"I agree. If it wasn't for Tenshi jumping in, I would have torn Malkee to pieces with my bare hands. I would have welcomed my demon side to some out," Inuyasha told his daughters.

"You all ways were so protective of us, Father. Now I see why," Kyashii replied with a smile on her face, and hugged him.

Servants kept stealing glances at them, hiding their smiles as they did so. This was how a family should be, even if that family was hanyou in nature. Even then, they were happy that Amaya would be leaving with her lost son and his friends. All they wanted was her happiness for years to come.

As they walked through the taijiya village doors, they were greeted by many faces. Kohaku stood aside, his chained sickle held in his fists incase any youkai tried to gain access to the village when the doors were open to allow access to returning from their travels. He relaxed as the doors were closed, and put the weapon back, but in easy reach, just in case.

"Sister. All has passed well, except for the wolf demon, Koga, has come by to ask forgiveness for some past sin that he has committed against Kagome," the young taijiya informed.

"Thank you, Kohaku. Lady Amaya, this is Sango's brother, Kohaku. Kohaku, this is Lady Amaya, Tenshi Suoh's mother," Kagome introduced the two to each other before leading the blind youkai to her hut. "You'll be staying with my mate and I until we have a hut built for you."

"There is no need to do that," Amaya said.

"I know that you'll say that, but I believe that hospitality is a lot better than having none at all," Kagome replied, showing Amaya where she would be sleeping.

Months later, Amaya grinned as she held her grand-pup. The young one had been born just a few days ago, and from what the others told her, it had her son's beautiful blue eyes and his mate's features, including her black and white hair. That must have been a sight for those who never saw an inu hanyou in such a way, to say the least. Other villagers flocked to the village to see the child and to seek help from the hanyou miko, Kagome, for troubles with youkai or illnesses.

"What will be he be named?" she asked.

"His name will be Fushigi," Tenshi answered his mother, taking the sleeping inu-kuro to his crib.

_It was said that a young inu hanyou who called himself Fushigi was the half demon who was able to lessen the gap between youkai, hanyou and humans alike. He made peace with each race for he was loved by all. Humans found that he was kind and caring, like his parents and his grand-parents. Other hanyou trusted him for he was one of them. Youkai learned to accept that he had their blood in him, and learned to accept other hanyou for what they were._

_It was also said that he lived well past the expected lifespan of a hanyou, surpassing the hanyou, Inuyasha, and the hanyou miko, Kagome, who live to a ripe seven hundred and fifty years of age. Fushigi himself lived up to a few years over nine hundred, and managed to become a well respected member of the Japanese parliament before he left for America under another identity. He died in France. Unfortunately, the British government found out about who he really was, but he managed to escape with the help of a young child suoh hanyou, whom he took under his wing. Yuki Yangi, the dragon half demon kept records of her adoptive father, which still exist today, and are located at the ancient Higurashi shrine._

Amaya—night rain

Tenshi—angel

Suoh—dragon

Hanyou—half demon

Taijiya—demon exterminator

Youkai—full demon

Inu—dog

Miko—priestess

Fushigi—mysterious

Inu-kuro—dog child/puppy

Yuki yangi—snow willow


End file.
